DeRo Trialling With Celtic – And TFC is Blindsided
So someone must be lying.
On the main page of the TFC web site this morning you can see a headline posted yesterday entitled “Reds Rubbish Rumour“.
“Dwayne is not going on trial with Celtic or any other club…We have not received word from anyone and expect him to be with TFC when training camp opens next month.”
Earl Cochrane (December 27, 2010)
And now less than one day after that denial, here is what he is going to be waking up to today.
Along with former MLS player Freddy Ljundberg, here is a shot from early Tuesday morning showing Dwayne De Rosario clearly wearing Glasgow Celtic gear training with the club in Scotland. A number of English and Scottish media outlets are reporting that De Rosario will be in Glasgow for at least a week while Neil Lennon and his staff take a look at him.
Whether this means that we have seen the last of DeRo in Toronto FC strip of course remains to be seen. But in the interim this development is very troubling for a number of reasons.
As I have written about now on a few occasions De Rosario is under contract with Toronto FC until the end of next season. And he has complained publicly on a number of occasions that he is not satisfied with the salary he receives, up to and including a now famous on field display where he “wrote the cheque” intimating to TFC that he felt he needed to finally “get paid”. The reality however is that he has little leverage. If he is to leave this club to play outside of MLS there has to be a negotiation with Major League Soccer to secure his release and a transfer fee has to be paid by a club like for example Celtic, of which a piece goes to TFC. Within MLS he is a signed player that of course can be traded or not traded. This means that the only way DeRo can leave TFC is with the cooperation of TFC.
In the quote from Cochrane the key words that stand out are “…we have not received word from anyone...”. This must mean if TFC is to be believed, that they were not told by De Rosario that he was planning on going to Scotland to try out with Celtic. It also means that it was likely De Rosario and/or his agent that called Celtic up and asked if it was okay for him to come over for a tryout.
TFC is adamantly saying that they are not interested in any kind of loan deal like the one that saw Landon Donovan play for a few months earlier this year with Premiership side Everton before reporting back to the LA Galaxy to continue his time in MLS. So TFC is saying there is no transfer being considered. They are saying that DeRo is under contract and is expected to come to training camp in Turkey next month, and that they are not considering any sort of loan deal.
So as I see it it looks to me that this entire episide is yet another tactic in a long line of tactics DeRo has tried over the years to get himself paid what he feels he is worth. And this coming so soon on the heels of TFC coming out with such a vehement denial of any movement of this player must be a huge embarrassment for Cochrane and his staff. The picture above does not lie. DeRo is in Glasgow and he is trying out with Celtic, TFC denial notwithstanding.
Not being party to the discussions, if any, between TFC and De Rosario, it is hard to know exactly what has happened. But I truly believe that there is no way TFC would have known he was going to Scotland and yesterday come out with such a public statement of denial as they did.
For more than a hundred days now there has been no permanent General Manager or Coach in charge at TFC since the club fired Mo Johnston and Preki. Perhaps a question worthy of asking to TFC about this entire situation that has emerged today is would DeRo be going behind the team’s back the way he likely did here, if a new GM and coach were in charge?
What do you think? Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
Edit: 11:00 AM
TFC has commented now on their site and here is what they are saying. They are confirming that they were indeed unaware of what DeRo was planning to do.
“We were unaware of Dwayne’s plan to train with Celtic and we will contact them to understand the situation. Obviously, if there is interest in a short term loan arrangement by either him or Celtic, they will need to approach us and the League formally and we will consider based on what is in TFC’s best interest.”
Sorry, this has to be the last straw for DeRo and TFC.
As I said on the USector website …..
Sorry … but unless TFC have given permission – and by all the sounds coming out of BMO thats not the case – then both Celtic and DeRo must be breaking some rules ???
DeRo is contracted to TFC as a player for 2 more years … he cannot simply decide to go on trial with another club. Celtic also cannot simply take a contracted player from another club on trial without going through proper channels ….
Something stinks …. we are either being told lies again from BMO Field and there is an agreement of some type, or both Celtic and DeRo are seriously taking the piss and breaking the rules.
If the misinformation is emanating from BMO then someone needs to set us straight so we dont blame it all on DeRo and his need for a fatter paycheck. If its Celtic and DeRO doing the dance then DeRo (the ZeRo) needs to be benched into the reserves for the rest of his contract (or made an example of by MLS by being removed from TFC and placed in MLS limbo where they hold his contract/registration and do not allow him to sign for anyone else) and Celtic dragged through every FIFA committee/court on the planet for tapping, illegal approaches or any other ‘offence’ that may come to light.
De Ro has done himself no favours with his already reactionary detractors but is no one alarmed at the ineptitude of Earl Cochrane and Co? Face it – this is TFC’s new GM wheher we like it or not and he doesn’t seem to have the footballing contacts with an ear to the ground to hear that his star player is hours from suiting up with another club. TFC puts the “fun” in dysfunction.
Derasaio, is a fantastic player with qualities that can often look world class. He is an extremely fit and srongly built player. Celtic would be daft not to sign him up immediately
Scotty
Since you are obviously a TFC supporter, then I can understand your frustration with the current situation.
However, at the moment, it is unlikely that anyone has actually broken any rules. DeRo has not actually played for Celtic, nor as far as anyone can determine, has Celtic entered into contract negotiations. Since TFC ultimately hold his contract, then they would have the final say in the matter. If any negoitiations were to occur that did not involve TCF, then that would be in breach of FIFA regulations, that can result in some very harsh treatment for the player, and the offending club.
As a Celtic supporter, I have had to witness some very shabby drawn out transfer negotiations down the years, However, Celtic are not a club that go around breaking any rules that could result in extreme sanctions against them.
I can see this going one of 3 ways.
1. Celtic like what they see, and make an official approach to TFC.
2. Celtic decide not to pursue the matter and DeRo turns up for training with TFC in Turkey.
3. Celtic decide not to pursue matters, but TFC decide to cash in on the player whilst he still has value. Ther longer the contract is that is remaining, the higher the value to the selling club. Who wants a player that doesn’t want to be there?
Since DeRo is virtually unknown over here, it will be interesting to see what develops.
Hail Hail
I think Scotty’s comments…and Celtic dragged through every FIFA committee/court on the planet for tapping, illegal approaches or any other ‘offence’ that may come to light….are a bit premature, since the article above has made it clear that no one knows what the real situation with the player is except perhaps TFC.
Until the facts emerge, we are dealing with speculation.
From what I see TFC had better take the money and run. Right now no one has a clue as to who is in charge or even how to run the club. Sell DeRo off, atke the money and invest in long term development.
Either way TFC is screwed. If Celtic want the player Celtic will get him. Fact.
John,
First off, I think you will find Scotty to be far more familiar with the workings of the leagues on both sides of the pond than you give him credit for….but I’ll leave that for him to take up.
In regards your point about no rules having been broken, I would be very surprised if there’s nothing in the contract which prevents a player training with another club without permission. Also, whilst I don’t have the FIFA regulations to hand, I do believe that courting players (which is what is obviously happening here) would be in breach of the rules, so no actual “negotiations” need to have taken place.
Remember the situation with Tommy Burns? Celtic fined £100,000 for “Tapping Up” or speaking to him without Kilmarnocks permission? What’s more, it was a move that ended his professional playing career as Kilmarnock were allowed to hold his player registration despite him move to Celtic as Manager….so much for “Celtic are not a club that go around breaking any rules that could result in extreme sanctions against them.”
More recently they have been accused of tapping-up youngsters from Aberdeen and also still have some outstanding issues regarding the signing of 17yr old Dylan McGeough from Rangers after Lennon was found to have visited the player without permission whilst he was still under contract.
It may be that Celtic have done no wrong here….time will tell…but they are hardly saints when it comes to abiding by the rules.
DeRo’s been brought in to provide competition for Celtic’s incumbents. Lennon’s side is underachieving and he needs to get them back on track to maintain pace with Rangers. He’s on a trail: rest of the chatter about “negotiations” is speculation by scribes.
If he does get signed, great for him. The fun part of this whole soap opera is what happens after he doesn’t get signed. Will TFC then try to trade him before the season begins? Or will it be a kiss and make up?
Celtic have done nothing wrong here people! Allowing a player who’s season is not currently going happens all the time in Europe around transfer windows. And the majority of those players are not signed anyway. As earlier stated, alot of teams use it as a method to light a fire under the asses of their current squad! If Celtic develop a loan interest in Dero, then all the official talks will take place. Untill then, it’s a player staying in shape in the off season, even if he does personally have a interest in playing for the team!
Where I’m concerned as a TFC season ticket holder is the absolute joke the front office of my team is right now! How could anyone blame Dero for looking around! This organization had better smarten up and MLSE should start treating this team as a professional sports team and not some little line of money flowing into their bottom lines.!!! Get a REAL GM, a REAL coach (for a change) and give all of us fans what we deserve!!!
@John (#4)
Yes John, I am a TFC fan and definitely frustrated at his actions. As more about it is discussed on message boards on both sides of the pond the picture gets cloudier and cloudier. The ‘facts’ as they seem to be at the moment …. in my eyes
1. DeRo is under contract to TFC for the next two years (a fact)
2. DeRo’s camp (via his brother in the Star) say he has permission to be there, TFC camp say he does not.
3. Whether he does or whether he does not seems to hinge around a hypothetical conversation about loan/training in the off season rather than an actual agreement. One side says he was told he could do it, the other says it was just a hypothetical conversation and no permission was granted.
3. TFC front office still appears to be a shambles so it is possible that #2 comes down in DeRo’s favour. However after the cheque cutting celebration towards the end of the season it is equally possible that this is yet another crass move and despite the club saying ‘no permission’ he or his agent pursued it anyway.
4. One place I may have been a little OTT is in my condemnation of Celtic. However, they do not get a get out of jail free card either !!! As noted by CaleyD, they have had the odd flurry of dodgy activity in the past and at the very least they should have had enough sense to make a quick call to TFC and do at least the most basic form of due diligence to make sure a player contracted to another club was indeed allowed to come on trial !!!
Celtic FC have never been, and never will be known as Glasgow Celtic, thats been terribly researced.the club only ever have been known as celtic, how on earth do you expect people to trust your articles when you can’t even get small details like that correct ???
Get over it John … Tim does do his research and you are being pedantic in the extreme !
Look at the page title on the SPL Website: http://www.scotprem.com/content/default.asp?page=s9_1_1 and complain to their own governing body for their glaring mistake instead ! Or search the BBC and look how many times the word Celtic is combined with the word Glasgow in front of it. Finally, complain to UEFA who often times call them “Glasgow Celtic” or “Celtic Glasgow” in official communications (order of words dependent on which language the communication is in).
Regardless of the fact that they are indeed officially just “Celtic Football Club” now (The Celtic Football Club and Athletic Company Ltd prior to 1994 though), they have always been called “Glasgow Celtic” on this side of the pond to differentiate themselves from dozens of teams with the term “Celtic” or “Celtics” in their names or just to acknowledge they are from Scotland. !!!
john, i take it your a rangers supporter? maybe you just hate the fact glasgow celtic are scottish, names???? its a fact celtic are from glasgow and scotland