Maybe it is just my natural pessimism, but I am getting a little concerned about our failure to secure our supposed transfer targets. Now, Mancini apart, I must say that none of the players linked with us lately have inspired any sense of excitement, but when third raters are saying, thanks but no thanks, it has to be cause for concern surely?
Fortune, it seems, prefers the idea of playing in the Scottish Prem. It doesn't seem to worry him that the quality of football is only marginally above what you would find with jumpers chucked down to indicate goal posts, cash strapped Celtic are preferable to West Ham. Maybe the song put him off. "Always running Boss? So what is Ashton going to be doing?" Of course, if his professional pride amounts to preferring fourth grade football to playing in the Premiership, we are probably better off without him, but it still rankles.
Then there is Davis who has opted to stay in the old Third Division rather than join us. Now full marks to the guy for preferring first team football at a lower level to sitting on the bench as an understudy to Green, but how much time have we wasted in pursuing him? The squad are back in training and is so tissue thin that even Quashie seems to fancy his chances of getting a game.
Come on Nani and Zola, get your fingers out!
51 comments:
Celtic are a huge club, sorry mate but West Ham are not in the same class.
Sour grapes? or maybe just a prat? Maybe you are just looking forward to another season in the champions league.......... fortune favours the brave and playing in Europe. The furthest you will get into Europe is a short break in Tenerife! Enjoy relegation and go blow some bubbles!
dear hammersfan , the reason fortune wants to play for celtic is because cetic are a bigger club ,have more than 60,000 fans at every other game,tony mowbray factor , the champions league and ,of course,to wear the green and white hoops . I have nothing against your club but who wants to play for a diddy team when they could play for the famous glasgow celtic
ha how can you say west ham is a more attractive club to be at instead of celtic, you need to get your head out your ass and smell to roses. celtic a club that provides european football, a history and 60 000 fans each week screaming your name...west hame can not offer any apart from a higher standard of football each week but has no potential in winning any trophies
Why is Davis given full marks for "preferring first team football at a lower level to sitting on the bench as an understudy" yet Fortune is condemned for doing the same.
I mean, what footballer would prefer more money for fighting it out for a middle position in the EPL to winning trophies and playing in the Champions league?
Celtic are a lot bigger club than use and will be playing in cl every year
Hail hail
The Games gone crazy right enough, when a west ham fan thinks that his club are bigger than Celtic..FFS!
The game has gone crazy when a club as big as Celtic gets a pittance of 550k from TV and bottom of the EPL gets 20 million for nothing from tv.
The games gone crazy and its surely wrong to call it sport when clubs like Celtic cant pay the same wages as third rate clubs like west ham because of Sky tv money and they dony allow us to set up a euro leagueswith other MASSIVE clubs in the same situation in holland, belgium and portugal among others...and yes Ajax, Feyenoord and Anderlecht are bigger than west ham!
Your right the games gone crazy...the sooner there is a level playing field with salary caps according to earnings and better tv deals or leagues for massive clubs in smaller nations then the sooner the game wont be so crazy anymore and let the cream rise to the top...where it should be!
Celtic generate more income than most clubs outside the top 4 in the epl, from means outside tv revenue or billioniare investors. It wasn't too long ago where west hams future looked uncertain with the crash of Icelandic banks...Fan base, stadium, European football and close hard fought heated derbies are obviously more appealing than fighting for the scraps left by the big four in the epl. As a Celtic I have always had a soft spot for west ham, but as a global brand and size of support west ham are tiny in comparison. Best of luck to the hammers but green is our colour not yours.
why would fortune want to go to west ham? Mid table EPL team at best.... no european football, while with Celtic he can win titles, trophies and of course play in the Champions League... West Ham would have struggled to enter the Intertoto cup if it was still around.
The usual English drivel about something they know very little about.
A case of very sour grapes!
hey hey hey steady now....we've actually got real goalposts in Glasgow....and srprisingly enough in our head to head with English clubs we actually have won more than we have lost, You are falling into the old trap of thinking we are a wee diddy team from somewhere way way way up in the frozen north but actually in spite of the lack of money comparatively with the Enlish premier league we are financially strong. Don't know anything about Fortune but if he turns out good and is sought after in England whatever club will have to pay over inflated prices as that is the problem with the English premiership. Clubs are paying zillions for average players ....ruining football....hope the hammers do well...Zola was a great player.
Cheers from what could be the South of France.....too good to last.
Who the 'F' are west ham? That's what Fortune would have been thinking.
Oh no wait, football players from all over the globe should be salivating at the prospect of signing for the ‘ammers’ and running out to that measly crowd at that dump of a stadium to fight relegation battles.
Yes, that’s what dreams are made of.
The only reason Davis didnt sign is because Southampton have just been taken over by Billionaires!! If they are as excentric as the other minted owners in English football then his wages will prob now be higher than most of West Hams first team.
as for Fortune he was clearely swayed by the fact that he has worked well under Mowbury before and prob fancies a shot at the champions league.
in my opinion we havent lost out on anything.
Maybe Fortune preferred to play for a better team who play better football, who have won the European Cup and play in the Champions League. Who have knocked Barcelona out of Europe and who have been to a major European final in the last 5 years.
A team who play in front of 60,000 every 2nd week. A team who are at the top table in Europe talking about the new Euro Leagues.
Or - he could have chosen West Ham - 5th best team in London who haven't won anything (and never will) since 1980. Who have arrogant fickle supporters who don't deserve the good Celtic man that is Stevie Clark.
Fortune joined us for less money because he HAS ambition - better to be challeging for titles and playing in Europe than being mid table dross in a bloated obscene league which will go pop in the very near future!!!!!!!!!!
Cash-strapped? - only in terms of tv income. In every other area (support, sales, global reach, etc) Celtic are way beyond West Ham's reach. And maybe the guy fancies Euro football?
Who the 'F' are west ham? That's what Fortune would have been thinking.
Oh no wait, football players from all over the globe should be salivating at the prospect of signing for the ‘ammers’ and running out to that measly crowd at that dump of a stadium to fight relegation battles.
Yes, that’s what dreams are made of.
Oh dear ... you're back writing stupid crap posts ...
Why don't you go & support man city or tottenham if you want to see year in year out players coming in and out of the door. We don't need to sign loads of players this summer ... 2 or 3 will do & I for one trust Zola & Clarke. If we can keep hold of Upson, Parker, & a few others and add a striker & possibly Mancini we will be in good shape.
Are you for real? Why should someone chose Celtic over West Ham.
Lets try 60,000 every home game, champions league football, ok the SPL isnt the same standard as the EPL but at least Celtic have a chance of winning it instead of fighting relegation, not to mention tradition and worldwide fan base.
Yet another fan of a big club !!!!! who derides Scottish football, i know its not great but how different is a 3 horse race from a 2 horse race and everyone else fighting a relegation battle. Fortune went to Celtic because of 2 things, the manager and a chance to play in europe,it is refreshing that someone wants to play somewhere not just for the money, thtas the problem with th EPL, its all about the cash and no pasion for the clubs
fcuk you!! fortune opted to join a big club. not a club that has been up and between the premier league for the last 20 years. what have yeez won? fcuk all....
What a joke, just because West Ham will play 4 top level teams twice a year, and lose the majority of those 8 games, you think its an insult to be turned down for a club with the best support in Europe and a chance to play in the Champions League. Just because you happen to play in a league that has been allowed by a corrupt governing body to overwhelm and belittle the sport itself with obscene amounts of money, to the detriment of a once proud and world-renowned Scottish league. Get a grip. Everyone knows where the smart money would be in a (very hypothetical) Celtic v West Ham CL qualifier too, with or without Fortune.
LOL Tartan fury! Come on guys, Celtic may make up the numbers in the CL, but that's it isn't it? How many games do you actually win? There is a competition beyond the group games you know, and it's not called the UEFA Cup or Europa League. Big club? Pike think they are big in their little ponds, but put them alongside sharks...
I am a hammers fan & I apologise on behalf of our club for this clown ... He posts every day, crap comments & so many west ham fans are embarassed of him. I doubt some days even if he is a west ham fan. Unfortunately we can't shut him up ... He clearly doesn't understand the history of our great club.
He is a disgrace, so take what he says with a pinch of salt.
As usual, the typical english response to losing out... We are the best, everyone else is inferior... (jumpers for goalposts???) a typical Toys out of the pram approach, I've always had a healthy respect for West Ham, and always will (always thought we had similar ethics) but morons like you (little englanders) really ought to educate yourselves before trying to play to the knuckle draggers you must surely appeal to...
I think you just have to salute Fortune for choosing football over cash.
He wants Champions League participation (and remember, for Celtic that has meant the knockout phase, rather than merely the group phase, two out of the last three years). He wants to play for a club whose name is already on that same trophy. He wants to play in front of a 60,000 home support renowned throughout Europe for the atmosphere they generate.
I think the number of posts on this page from Celtic fans as opposed to West ham fans demonstrates aptly the difference in size between the two clubs.
I have always had a soft spot for the Hammers, because traditionally they have favoured stylish, imaginative football in the same way that Celtic have. And I'm also a huge admirer of Zola. Don't fret - I'm hopeful there are good times to come, down Green Street way.
We have been passed the groups stages twice in the last two year. You are ill informed to comment and clearly in a huff because nobody wants to play for your samll team.
Hammersfan said;
Celtic may make up the numbers in the CL, but that's it isn't it? How many games do you actually win? There is a competition beyond the group games you know, and it's not called the UEFA Cup or Europa League.
Celtic have qualified from the group stages of the CL twice in the last three Champions League campaigns. Naturally though, you being an ignorant trumpeter of everything BPL, you are uninformed of anything going on outside your bubble.
Big club? Pike think they are big in their little ponds, but put them alongside sharks...
Celtic would swim quite comfortably in your league, the infrastructure in place would see us on a par with the top four if we were to pick up the £40-£50M TV money available in the BPL, as well as vastly increased sponsorship and image rights. Need proof? here's our hope record in Europe over the last few years
2001/02
Celtic 1-0 Porto
Celtic 1-0 Rosenborg
Celtic 4-3 Juventus
Celtic 1-0 Valencia
2002/03
Celtic 3-1 FC Basel
Celtic 8-1 FK Suduva
Celtic 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
Celtic 1-0 Celta Vigo
Celtic 3-1 Stuttgart
Celtic 1-1 Liverpool
Celtic 1-1 Boavista
2003/04
Celtic 1-0 FBK Kaunas
Celtic 1-0 MTK Budapest
Celtic 2-0 Lyon
Celtic 3-1 Anderlecht
Celtic 0-0 Bayern Munich
Celtic 3-0 FK Teplice
Celtic 1-0 FC Barcelona
Celtic 1-1 Villarreal CF
2004/05
Celtic 1-3 Barca
Celtic 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Celtic 0-0 AC Milan
2005/06
Celtic 4-0 Artmedia Bratislava
2006/07
Celtic 1-0 FC Copenhagen
Celtic 3-0 Benfica
Celtic 1-0 Manchester United
Celtic 0-0 AC Milan
2007/08
Celtic 1-1 Spartak Moscow
(Celtic win 4-3 on penalties)
Celtic 2-1 AC Milan
Celtic 1-0 Benfica
Celtic 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Now, lets see West Ham's record against european opposition?
However, Scottish clubs joining the BPL unlikely to happen, turkeys don't vote for christmas. Debt laden provincial clubs like West Ham, Blackburn & Portsmouth will always vote against this happening out of self interest and fear of failure.
Theres a competition beyond the group games ?
What about the consecutive last 16 appearances in the CL or the final of the uefa cup , quarter final of the uefa cup. Beating teams like Barcelona , ManUtd , AC Milan , Juventus , Lyon , Benfica , Shakhtar , Liverpool , Stuttgart . We always have been a bigger club than you and we always will be. Deal with it.
Making up the numbers? Twice achieving last 16 in the world's best club competition, runners up to Mourinho's Porto in the UEFA Cup final (beating Liverpool and Blackburn away en route).
Run me through West Ham's euro results in the last 10 years.
Like West Ham, but there's no competition mate.
the problem with all these also-ran english clubs is that because their big 4 do well in europe they all think they are great.The teams that go into the uefa cup generally get fucked by no marks.To try and compare west ham to celtic is fucking ludicrous and thats coming from a rangers fan
West Ham were not after Fortune, agent tabloid talk, and from what I've seen glad he won't be at Upton Park next year.
But good luck to him and Celtic hope he bangs in a load of goals for you.
OK guys, would ANY of the teams in the SPL, outside of Celtic and Rangers, even survive in the Premiership? Outside of Hearts, most would struggle to survive in the Championship! Scottish football is third rate, that may be painful for you Scots but it is the truth, that's why the Glasgow clubs have flirted with the idea of joining the Prem. I must admit that I had missed the fact that Celtic had scraped through to the first knock out round of the CL a couple of times - well done. But, at the end of the day, what self respecting footballer would choose to ply his trade in the SPL? Fortune has opted for comfort over challenge.
What a load of rubbish. Do you just want hits for your website or something? Thats the only reason I can think of that you would write that insulting and inflammatory article.
Don't get me wrong, I actually like west ham and keep an eye out for their results on a saturday, but sorry they are not in the same class as Celtic.
There's your answer - in an English newspaper.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article6677800.ece
would any of the clubs outside of the big 4 do anything in serie a , la liga or even Germany for that matter .....you should stop believing your own hype.Ok i will give you the fact that your big 4 are all top quality teams but the rest are no great shakes,the only reason decent players occasionally sign for the rest is money
That fantastic recent record of West Ham in Europe..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/5384280.stm
Usal Celtic fan tripe to the guy who posted the home european record why not the away record.Thats right you have only got draw once away from home in the championsleague.
"Usal Celtic fan tripe to the guy who posted the home european record why not the away record.Thats right you have only got draw once away from home in the championsleague"
is that the same competition that west ham have never, and never will, take part in?
this is one tim that's hoping you lot get relegated, cheers!
This clown shames West Ham for attention. There's always been respect between hoops and irons.
another pointless article from someone arrogant enuf to think that anything outwith the mightly epl is inferior.
the premier league is a great lge but everyone knows the epl is 3 leagues in 1
the top 4 who are the only 1s ev er going to win the lge
the mid table teams who get a draw at old trafford when playing ten men behind the ball and celebrate as if they ave won the champions lge
and the teams who fight it out for relegation (west ham utd)
celtic have more fans worldwide than all the london teams put together ffs!!!!
I agree with my anonymous brethren. Celtic are a good club having had CL success 2 of the last 3 years.
West Ham can offer the chance to get skinned by half the league week in week out. But there is always cup day against Dipdock Wanderers where you boys can show your class!
Bloody sweaties. They're all the same, no sense of humour, all wanna be William Wallace. Look what we done to him! Of course Celtic get in CL every year. They ain't got no competition up there have they? 60.00 fans every OTHER week, and the weeks in between? Probably bigger crowds at the Orient! I mean, don't I? Aliadiere knew who West Ham was didn't he? Two appearance for Celtic and he thought 'I've had enough of this rubbish, I'm off to West Ham!' Why do think it is that sky tv don't put money into the spl? That's right, NOBODY WOULD WATCH!
nobody would watch. That's right. That's why Setanta went bust. Too many spl games!
Re: Hammers Fan
The SPL is of a poor quality, of that there is no doubt but the EPL is not all its made out to be. 90% of the games you see on Sky are atrocious although when you get the rare exciting game it gets bummed up beyond belief.
Yes, the English league is better (with Londons population in comparison with that of our whole country it bloody well should be!!) but it aint all that mate.
West Ham will do well, very well to make it into the top 8 or at the very most a European place, whereas Celtic will be fighting for the title, allbeit in a lessor league. But I'll tell you something, if you gave anyone other than a moneygrabber the choice between West Ham and Celtic there would only be one winner. Always.
Best of luck for next season as I've always had a soft spot for the Hammers but I think (though I may be wrong) that unless you get Ashton back fit for a full term then it could be a tough season for you.
Hail Hail.
lets ask frank mcavennie.well lets face,english league more of a challenge and who is fortune anyway,did west ham ever go for him,i dont think so,he aint good enough had trouble in our lower league.
I clicked on the link because I read a cracking article by a Hammer a few months back (he blogs about visiting away grounds, the one I read was about a trip to Birmingham to play City). Very well written and raised a smile.
Sadly not the same guy!
The article at the head of this page is a bit predictable, lazy and clearly not thought through. Anyone would think it was designed to rile the Hoops fans to get some attention to the blog..............
Good luck to the Hammers this season - I guess you cast the same covetous glances at the "big 4" and their spending power, as we do at the EPL. (correct me if I'm wrong, but 3 of your top 4 account for the bones of a £1bn debt at the minute?
Until the bubble bursts (no pun intended!) we all need to simply get through.
I'm sorry but this is a crap article posted by someone who likes the sound of his own voice. I'm a West ham supporter and I can see exactly why Fortune went to Celtic - Tony Mowbray (who he has worked with before) and Champions League football! Don't take this the wrong way you Scots but apart from Rangers and Celtic, Scottish football is pretty crappy in comparison with the EPL but to get the chance to play on some of the biggest stages in Europe? I would if I were him! To get to play for a guy he undoubtedly respects? Again, I would! As for Kelvin Davis? He wanted first team football not to sit on a bench week in week out for the money - good on him!
I have absolutely nothing against West Ham but seriously what is the story with this article!!!!
Fortune had the chance to go to Celtic........he has shown that prestige is important to him as well as his pay cheque, so how the hell could he turn down a club like Celtic?!?!?
They are a world famous club, with a world wide support. They admittedly play in a poor league but not as bad as made out by some. He will have the chance to play european football in a club revitalised by Tony Mowbray's arrival and play in front of 60,000 fans every other week.
If Celtic hadn't been after him then I would presume he would have signed for a decent Premiership team like West Ham over dross like Hull. But once Celtic wanted him and he was prepared not to only chase the money the decision was easy for him.
Aliadiere left as he was not good enough to get a game for they mighty celts.
He spent all the time on the bench as he was not as good as the young scottish talent that was there
Oh dear - someone wants to play for Celtic instead of taking the cash wih West Ham, who last did anything notable when Billy Bonds was still cool.
Try getting out of Lahndon for a bit. It might open your eyes.
when have west ham ever been competing for a european place let alone playing in a european competition. had it not been for an illegal signing you would have been in the championship just as poor a league as ours
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