 Thursday, March 31, 2005
Celtic release Interim Accounts
Celtic released their Interim Accounts this morning for the six months ending 31st December 2004 – the last day they were able to do so without breaking stock market rules. There was no word on the circumstances under consideration which caused the delay.
On the whole, the news is positive:
Turnover is up £3.2million to £39.336million while at the same time the cost of operating the business fell from £32.7million to £30.8million.
Operational Profit is up from £3.3million to £8.1million
Half Year amortisation charge was £5.2million for player transfers, mostly incurred during previous seasons. This leaves only £8.7million on the books still to be amortised.
The club made a six month profit of £2.0million compared to a £2,8million loss last season.
Net debt was only slightly down at £17.38million compared to £18.17million this time last year, and the Balance Sheet is £4million weaker at £27million for the same period.
The board have also reacted to calls for a dividend re-investment scheme, saying that proposals will be published soon.
The big point to consider is the £8.7million left to be amortised. As this figure reduces, we have more scope to spend money on players (in June is was £12million).
I have suggested that a share issue is under consideration and that this was the reason for the delay, a belief I still hold. I will work on a budget projection for the remainder of this season and next season over the next couple of days.
37 Comments:
-
Dissapointed that no reason was given for the delay!
I was hoping like many others from the site that something big was about to break.
Tony, Latvia
-
Thanks Paul, any reason why the balance sheet is weaker given all other positives? Has value of players as assets reduced?
Overall sounds healthy.
-
Just listened to Radio Clyde advising "Celtic hopes of keeping Bellamy received a blow with release of accounts". More negatives from the media!!
-
Paul, are you still hopeful that something is happening in the background and was the cause for the delay?
Tony
-
Tully57, the balance sheet is weaker due to the whopping amortisation charge, this is actually good news for next season.
Anon, if anyone tells you that this is bad news they have a Celtic agenda. This is the best financial figures the club has produced in years.
Still hopeful Tony, though there are several things I don’t know about in going on in the background at the moment.
-
Paul, How will this effect the predicted spending plan in the close season? Do you still think there will be £20 million made available or will this be substatially reduced as a result.
-
Wages are now at 60% of turnover, and the board made a separate announcement that this would need to be cut drastically.
This is what Radio Clyde are picking up on when they are saying that we won't now sign Bellamy.
However with Lambert, Juninho and Douglas all leaving the wage bill and possibly one or two other big earners then there should be more than enough funds to pay his wages.
An interesting point that I noticed in the footnote was "Dianbobo Balde extended his contract with Celtic until 31 May 2009 subject to certain conditions".
This wasn't mentioned on any of the other players that had extended their contracts. Any reason why?
Newarthill John
-
Evening Paul,fellow tims
sorry to lift this from the end of the last article but I think it deserves a bit of comment.
Bankiebhoy, on your point about the fans making up for the shortfall from TV money at Man U being unhappy.WE have been doing it for years.I don't know the exact figures for our TV deal(think it is approx 1.2 million pounds per year or some other derisory amount)but I know for a fact that the percentage of our income from TV in relation to Man U is almost laughable.Now apart from say 20 million at most coming from other sponsorships and European participation that would leave roughly 50 million or so coming straight from the pockets of us.If the Man U fans had to produce the same percantage of their clubs turnover as Celtic fans do their turnover would probably in the region of 400 million per year and not 150 million or so as was reported a couple of weeks ago.So at the moment, I would say they are an extremely lucky bunch of supporters.
Kilo, agree with your comments re the standard of football.Couple of months ago on this very site,there were umpteen articles on the poor fair being served up by Celtic,with lots of people harking back to Tommy Burns and Billy McNeill and so forth. Back to a time when we had about half of the money and about a tenth of the money,respectively, as we have now.
More money does not necessarily mean better football.Compare England with Spain,I am of the understanding The Premier League gets more money from TV than La Liga,and the football certainly bears no comparison.What we have(a good manager,and some damn good players)will make more difference to the way we are able to play football than any amount of money.Just ask Leeds.
Paul,I have veered away from comment on the move to the EPL for most of my contributions to your page, but here goes.
I don't think it will ever happen.
And I also hope and pray that it doesn't.We can point to Labour laws in the EC and powerful men holding shares and anything else we may care to think up to make us hope that it might.But it won't.The only way any of the clubs in England or the TV companies for that matter,would even dream of inviting us to join would be if the top 6 or 8 clubs in that league left to make up a European league.In which case, I would hope that ourselves and Rangers would be also joining such a setup.You did an excellent piece a few months ago regarding this very notion,with relegation and promotion from regional leagues to the the top tier of European competition.This I see as the only way for us to leave the SPL,because if we are allowed to do so,then everyone will be allowed to do so.From the Dutch to the Belgian,the Portuguese to the Austrian.I simply cannot see either UEFA or FIFA allowing this to happen purely because we could get more money for our club.And I also think we are overestimating the TV audiences that we think we would add to an already oversaturated market in England,where, really, that is all that matters to TV companies who control the rights at the moment.Now I know the response to this will be what about America and Asia and Australia and so forth.Well, they already see the Premier League at the moment,and I don't really see their interest being rammed up a few notches just because Celtic and Rangers join the league.Most people I know who proclaim an interest in Celtic will watch them if the broadcast is available,regardless of who they are playing.The only time the interest comes from people outside this sphere is when they are playing in the Champions League or the latter stages of the UEFA cup.If we were to play in the EPL I doubt if we would qualify for the UEFA cup and never mind the Champions League,which is where I want to see Celtic playing there football,exactly were we belong.
Not in some overhyped,overpriced crap competition just so we can earn a few extra dollars.
We are a Scottish team with a Scottish/Irish history and we should be bloody proud of it.We are not an English team,and I for one do not want to see us become one.I would much rather see us representing Scotland in a European League than going cap in hand to the English Leagues asking for more money.We already have more than all but five of the teams anyway,and all but 13 or so teams in Europe.Money is not always the answer.Bayern Munich have only appeared in the top of the money leagues when they have been earning it through advancement to the latter stages of the Champions League.I doubt they would have had any more money than us in the last five years if their European results had mirrored ours.The way to more riches is through fighting our way up the rankings in Europe,as we have done so in the last five years.Now that we will be in pot 2 of the draw for next year it up to us to A/ make sure we get into it in the first place, and B/ take full advantage of it when we do get there. Because that is when our club and it's supporters will get the kudos it so richly deserves. When we do it without the huge handouts from TV companies for deserting our league and homeland, but when the manager, the players and the supporters do it for Celtic.
Celtic, the Scottish Champions
Hail Hail,
Kano
-
All in all, they look like solid financial results to me with no huge surprises. Would be nice to know why they were delayed so long, as there is nothing within the figures to hint at a reason. So I imagine the recent speculation will continue about Glazer, share issues, etc. I guess we will just have to concentrate on winning the double and watch this space in terms of anything else.
I am concerned however, that the outcome of the EPL scenario seems dependent on Glazer's actions. If this is the basket where our board are placing all of their eggs, then it seems to be one massive gamble that is extremely risky, where only one possible outcome can be deemed a succes, but where there are numerous pitfalls along the way. I like to think that we have more than one option in this, just in case Glazer isn't successful. Time will tell.
One final point, which is linked to some comments made on a previous thread about how rich we are in both UK and European terms. The figures quoted in the "Rich Lists" are for turnover only. As was well explained (or so I thought) in a recent e-Tims article, it costs Celtic a lot of money to generate our turnover. To raise £20m of merchandising income costs £15m (say) in wages, buildings, stock, bills, etc. To an EPL club, £20m of TV money costs nothing. The rich lists are misleading in this sense and is well worth remembering that when we next ask "where has all the money gone?"
-
Brian74,
these costs are also borne by all the other clubs in the list too.
To say we are the only ones to absorb these cost is ridiculous to say the least
-
Hi Paul, I have been speaking to an economic expert that is involved in aquisitions. He firmly believes that apart from television revenue, there is no other major scope for Glazer to expand Man U. You have said in the last post that there is: can you back this up? In addition, he has told me that Man U are already overvalued by the SM and that with Glazer paying about 30% above the share price then he is destined to fail. This is a really good source and he has advised companies such as Hewlett Packard in the past. I am not saying he is correct but i would like to hear why you think Man U will be such a good investment. Do you believe that Glazer hopes that Celtic joining the EPL will makehis investment more valuable, i personally doubt it. I see Glazer trying to fry bigger fish(revenue wise)considering the amount he is wiling to invest.
Just putting another stint on things.
-
Kano,
In fairness Brian was saying that where turnover is from tv it has zero cost to a club. 20 million tv income equals 20 million profit essentially. But with merchandising there is a cost - raw materials, making the merchandise and selling costs...
M
-
Kano
A lot of the other clubs receive a large percentage of their income from TV, which is easy money - no overheads for the clubs. They don't buy the cameras, pay for the commentators etc A lot more of our income in percentage terms comes from say merchandising, which means we have to buy the shirts, rent the outlets, pay the staff etc
-
I would say at the moment, that most of our money comes from straight ticket sales and commercial sponsorship and payments from UEFA for participation in European competition,which is money coming straight to the club.The cost of getting the income from TV deals for the bigger clubs is to have more expensive players and to pay them more wages, therefore attracting the higher TV income.
Regardless of where it comes from,most teams in the "rich list" are making huge losses every year.
So to say they are getting the money for "nothing" is rather silly.
-
The interim results are good news.
The club is spot on in trying to get the wage bill below 60% of revenues - this ratio is a going-out-of-business figure.
As the fan revenue income is maxxed out, the only way to increase the revenue stream is to get out of the SPL fishbowl, or we wither. Anyone putting nationalistic ideology before good business sense is saddly mistaken.
Hope you enjoy singing Flower of Scotland at Celtic Park when the stadium is half full...thats where the status quo takes us.
-
TrueTim, I think you have picked me up wrong in the past. I also cannot see any significant revenue streams open to Glazer apart from TV money.
All due respect to your economics source (they give economics degrees out very easily, I should know) Glazer is bidding this amount of money because he has banks of economists and other forecasters checking his sums. Lets see.
Brian74, I know for a fact that this is not the only strategy Celtic have to leave the SPL, however, it is the one which can deliver quickest. If this fails there is the legal strategy which Dermot Desmond has alluded to in the past. The club believe that there is a fair chance this route will succeed; as such they are not busy suing people they are trying to do a deal with.
Kano, Celtic fans do pay for a disproportionate amount of the clubs expenditure directly. I think the point Bankiebhoy was making is that the Man Utd board are forgoing TV income and planning to squeeze this extra income from the fans.
I would be happy to stay in Scotland if things were different, however, not matter how well we are run we will never be a top tier team while in Scotland. Zinadine Zidane will never want to come and play for us. This is where we need to aim for.
This is vision I have for Celtic.
-
Kano,
I didn't say we were the only ones to absorb merchandising costs, and if I did I would happily accept that it was "ridiculous". What I said was that we rely on these costs to generate a higher proportion of our income than most other clubs on the list do. Our turnover includes a higher percentage of merchandising income than others who are able to rely on "free" Sky money. Most of these clubs then use this money to buy players. They have a readily available £20m cash input to spend whereas, we have £20m cash less £15m costs to spend.
I also disagree that paying for players is somehow a 'cost' of this Sky money. If that was the case, Leeds United would be flying just now. The reasons that the clubs on the rich list are making losses is purely down to financial mis-management and has nothing to do with how they got their money in the first place. I accept that you need to have a certain standard of player in your team in order to maintain your status in the top leagues and to continue to receive the TV money, but you do not need to go bankrupt to do this.
In saying all of that though, I do agree that a substantial amount of our revenue currently comes from ticket sales, UEFA and sponsorship. I also believe, as has been previously discussed, that this could be spent more wisely.
-
CanajunBhoy,
I'm afraid your missing the point. Celtic have more money coming in at the moment that most of the European teams yet we don't perform as well.
We are the 13th in the list with an Income of £69m. How that money is spent is down to the club. I think that at the moment we are not getting value for money.
The answer should not be to raise revenue at every opportunity but to ensure that we get the best value for every £1 spent.
I think the results today are very positive. Mr Quinn has commented on the 60% salary ratio and identified that as being something to target for reduction.
Also the comment about improved trainning and scouting will also mean in the future we should be able to sign players who offer better value for money.
For the record I think the following should leave at the end of the season.
Juninho if we are not going to play football in a way that suits him.
Sylla, Fernandez overpaid bench warmers. There are youngsters who have as much talent and much more drive that could replace them.
Lambert will be leaving anyway. He has been a good servant and would like to see him progress as a manager and maybe return in the future.
-
Phob, part of the reason we are not getting good value for our money is due to the SPL. Last summer we offered Barsturk and Saviola more money to come here than they eventually got elsewhere.
Think of this; Player A is wanted by Celtic and Liverpool. Liverpool have offered £1.5million per year. How much money would Celtic need to offer to attract the player to the SPL instead of the EPL?
Would £1.7m do it? Probably not. How about £1.9m? Maybe, maybe not.
-
I'd also add that unlike other teams of a similar financial stature we don't bring in players from less developed markets who would cost less in salary & transfer fees. Of course these players could be deemed more riskier signings.
-
"Rangers give helping hand to Celtic profit"
This is the headline in our city's evening paper which refers to the extra income we got from their failure to qualify for the champions league. Am I alone in thinking this is typical of the negative spin we constantly get fed from our established media sources? I also think that if anything it has got worse in recent years, in these enlightened days of equality and tolerance!
I dont remeber the reverse headlines when we were pish and they were winning the league and going further in Europe.
It also drives me potty the chat on the radio shows, I know I shouldn't listen but I can't help it. These are the best results of any scottish team for a while and what is the focus? "Fans" frustration that bellamy is going to slip out of the door at the end of the season because we can't afford him. Here's my prediction, if we win the league and I expect us to, bellamy will be signed up, maybe another big signing as well. Our beloved chairman's pronouncements will be seen as a genius ploy to dampen both Bellamy's and fans expectations.
The future is bright, its green and white! I hope.
-
Stepjam,
I think we all share your frustration at the spin that's employed and it is a running theme here as to the negative spin we get. Whilst Big Marv is working 'miracles'!! Lets hope he finds a cure for some of their support.
The one thing is that is does dampen expectation. I have to think that there is enough talent at Celtic that we can get on with pursuing our own agenda,run the club on a stable basis and bring on the young talent that Tommy Burns has been raving about. Let them give us a 'helping hand' every single year on the tv money front.
As for the bullshit we get on the radio and what passes for commentary on Setanta, as has been said on etims they will lose a huge part of their market if they don't sort it out. Chances are on the figures I've been reading about Brown, Hately et al will be looking elsewhere for employment sooner rather than later.
The figures reveal that the club is being well stewarded in my opinion. I don't think they will go mad on the signing front in the summer, but like Paul I am convinced some big things are afoot. Unless one of the big 4 come in for Bellamy he will sign as well. The money for anyone who looks behind the nonsense peddled by the media it's clear for all to see.
-
I feel quite optimistic for the summer after reading Brian Quinns' comments this evening.
An announcement on the training facility before the end of the season,an increase in scouting,a few high earners off the wage bill and the possibility of "trading" players.I assume this might mean sell to buy, but as has been discussed here previously we can all see a few candidates for the summer sales.As long as we bring in a mix of ages to replace them that's OK with me.
Overall,the results seem good so I suppose the question remains as to why they left it to the last day to announce them.
BankieBhoy
-
well, I thought maybe there where some bad news with the interims being late, but it looks ok to me.
No news on a share issue, i can't see why Glazer buying Man U would hold it up as the issue would be for new shares and not transfer of shares, so why dose DD not underwrite it? as it would keep him under the 30% mark would it not.(I may be wrong)
I think our board are right not to get drawn into situation where they are forced to say yes we have 5M for Bellamy then Bellamy saying he is off or we go for another player and the other team up the price.
I think Bellamy will stay with us and the fee wont be a problem as most transfers are paid in instalments.
Hail Hail
PS, I seen in another thread someone tought Paul67 worked for Celtic PR department.Shock horror Celtic got a PR department. :-)
PPS, sorry about spelling and grammar, as iam doing a hit and run.(just going out) :-)
-
This man Glazer is a shyster. The Man U support HATE the prospect of him getting hands on their club. He doesn’t even like football. He is running Tampa Bay Buccs into the laughing stock of American Football. He is a megalomaniac by all accounts who just wants the publicity. He isn’t even a very good business man. He is planning on borrowing so much money to buy Man U that if he does buy them, he will turn them from being the wealthiest club in the world into the club with the biggest debt in the world overnight! YET… some on this site think him buying ManU is exactly what is in the best interests for Celtic. Do we really want idiots like him controlling football, and eventually Celtic?
-
Interesting set of figures. As usual the devil is in the detail.
They don't tell us much about what is really going on.
I haven't had time to look - Paul - who won our bet on those resigned players and the balance sheet.
I read the last thread on devaluation of the share price with a wry grin on my face. This is of course what I have suspected for some time. This should not come a surprise to anyone. We just need to ask the question - is it okay for our short term success to be sacrificed to allow some of our directors (and their friends) to make a few bucks more?
I now strongly suspect that the forces which looked like allowing us into the EPL have diminished.
Whilst these figures look good you really do worry about the boards attitude. Quinn was rightly pointing out the lack of a European run as a factor in the second half - but it didn't seem to do us any good in the last 2 years. But the most laughable comment was "we have played one more league match at home this year". Why on earth is this such a huge factor - does our catering earn a fortune? Actually - are extra league matches not more costly given they are covered by season books! In short Quinn is again dampening our expectations (as much as possible).
And also note that there is another very strange provision here. The JV with Setanta is noted and, even though Celtic are not liable for any losses our lovely board have decided to make a provision for it (just in case). How incredibly prudent.
There is nothing here to believe that this board are about to invest in playing staff - just a hope we will still be their turnstyle fodder.
Lets hope they really do have someting up their sleeve - because if this is it then its time for them to move on.
-
Neg Anon,
The resigned players have had their residual value spread over the remainder of their contract. I win this one :-)
I knew you were going to claim credit for the low share price, however, I don’t agree. In fact I think that by selling a £100k worth of shares you can drop the price by 20% proves all your balance sheet devaluation theories are over elaborate to achieve the same result.
As far as the “one less game” point goes, cash comes in from the season book, however, credit for the income is considered only when the game in played, so “income” not cash, will be down around £800k as a result of one less league game.
Ryesammy, Glazer has turned Tampa Bay from perennial losers into champions.
Financial projections for next season in the morning – still looking good!
-
A tentative opening entry.
Paul 67: I am very pleased that Celtic have posted their half-year figures - mainly because this means that for the next few weeks you'll be writing about a topic you know very well and can communicate to your readership with real vigour and expertise. (Unlike your speculations about the EPL, which are hollow, self-deluding and distract us from the future of our club.)
Anyway, just a thought on the wage figure. To get from 60 per cent of turnover down to, say, 50 per cent will require a cut of about £7 million per annum, or an increase in turnover of £14 million, or some combination of the two. For this reason I do not expect young Craig to sign up, at least not until he's hawked himself up and down the EPL - say late July, just in time, or perhaps too late, to be eligible for the CL.
Martin, and the board, want to keep on winning the SPL. They feel that the best value-for-money way to do this is to keep a tight defence, maintaining our physical edge over all our domestic rivals. Hence signing Henchoz, and indicating clearly that they want him to stay, hence re-signing Bobo, etc.
Martin has always been a rational buyer. He'll be looking for a cheap poacher for next season: I am sure he'd say that his best-ever purchase was Tony Cottee and he'll be looking for a similar type for us.
-
Canajunbhoy,
dismissing 117 years of history as
mere "nationalistic ideology" is as stupid a comment as I have heard since your cracker about limiting what people where allowed to say on this blog.Singing "flower
of scotland" at Celtic Park? Have you ever actually been there? That
is one thing you will never hear and long may it continue.It is the attitude of you and your ilk that will destroy this club if you are allowed to.Tying to make a case for leaving your league just because some other leagues happen to have more money from TV is a complete and utter load of pish.
The "status quo" as you call it has taken us to full stadiums and increased revenue purely because we have been doing the business on the park.And also because one wee man put his money where his mouth was and asked the supporters of this great club to help him in his vision .As for your "good business sense" remark. I have yet to see any come from you.Try having something of your own to say instead of just piggy backing on Paul's comments with "I agree wholeheartedly" type comments.What takes us to half empty stadiums is numpties like you throwing your toys out of the pram and not going to games because the club won't follow your twisted idea of "good business sense" I for one will be there when the stadium is half empty or watching it from wherever I can if unable to be in the country,unlike your good self.And I do know that in the future there will be games with half empty stadiums just as there has been before,and this will be down to not people like me, but the same people who weren't there when it was half empty.The "fad" supporters
who will soon disappear if things don't go their own way or the fair on offer is just not up to standard or because they think they know more about business sense.
-
exactly what is it that's so surreal about celtic fans singing "flower of scotland?"
hard though it may be for some folks to grasp, celtic are a scottish team (woohoo, i said it) and even harder though it may be to grasp, the majority of their fans are scots (something i understand, related to their being based in scotland). i'm scottish, not irish. my family were irish, but lo and behold, by virtue of birth right, i'm lucky enough to be one of those eligible to play for walter smith's tarta... ermmm, ok, that one i'll concede.
as regards accounts, buyouts, share issues and decanting, here's my take.
manchester united's fortunes have little or no significance to our own, as had any of those concerned wished to invest in celtic at their previous opportunities, nothing barred them from doing so. they didn't, and they won't.
malcolm glazer won't invest in celtic (as has been mooted) as in american circles, apart to a fervent but miniscule number, who are celtic? (no prizes for saying a basketball team based in boston, soccer, what's that?)
as regards the EPL, why would english football need us? the next deal will be for less money, not more, and the theory (you'd have thought someone would cotton onto this) that celtic's inclusion would raise the money on the table, should be offset by the fact that money will be going to celtic. turkeys... christmas... blah blah blah.
added to which, as previously alluded, celtic's interest as a mid table premiership team may be somewhat dissolute to that as a champions league mainstay (who said half empty stadium?)
finally, the accounts. they are not spectacular. neither are they bad, they're predicatable. the club performed roughly as they have done for the previous few seasons of interim results. and when the end of year results are published, we will (accounting fact here, not conjecture) show a downturn in our now traditional end of year figures, due to lack of significant european participation. which tells us what? that through intransigence the board have decreased our club's stature and income, through their unwillingness to invest at a time of authority. amortisation my posterior. a key commercial concept is specualte to accumulate. speculation does not mean do a leeds, but it also doesn't mean herald henri camara and juninho as the next ronaldo and ronadihnho. to go from european finalist to stopgap appeasement in 15 short months seems bizarre to me. i would say just ask porto, but at least we managed to retain the manager who got us to seville. not that the other guy didn't give the porto fans a few days out since that hotter than hell evening.
ther's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, there's no white knight to save us. and neither there should be. a question was a sked here a few months ago, wouldn't it be worth having glazer on board if it brought us success? no. far better would be if we had a board who gave enough of a damn to get on their private jet from their caribbean island to take in a game, and who knew that concentrating on building on the (now fading) success of the team was more beneficial, than hocking them round their golfing pals.
put very, very simply... i've been told that money hasn't been available due to amortisation, which reduces to slight but significant levels this season. well, let's just see how much of it goes on playing staff, and how much is diverted to "other projects."
i'm quite happy to bet that if it's anywhere in the region previously purported here, i'll eat my monitor. and malcolm glazer's.
jock tamson
-
Jock,
Flower of Scotland is a superb song.
For Scotland games
-
Why would the EPL want us? It's not about whether the EPL as a whole want us. It's about whether 3 or 4 clubs want us-ManU being the most significant of those. Turkeys don't get any sort of vote.
The points been made but here goes again:-
Wigan v ManU
Celtic v Manu
Which game sells more advertising,TV money,gate money? Market forces.
I'm not advocating persecution of 'minority groups' but one of those literary heavyweights-'Maxim' maybe?! was reported as having had a survey where the vast majority of Celtic fans would like a move to the EPL. Unsurprisingly most of the English fans didn't want us. But, then, at the end of the day the fans aren't going to have all that much of a say are they?
These are not 'hollow' arguments and I by no means agree with Paul on everything. You can disagree with the ambition of moving there but when our own Chief Exec. says we want to try and do it presumably it is something other than a fantasy.
-
I for one think Paul does a very good job. People fail to realise he s not, how can I put it, in it for the money, he clearly does it for his love of the club.
We all have our views opinions and dreams for OUR football club. We as the great Jock Stein stated are the life blood of the game. No one wants to see half empty stadiums the anwser is in my opinion simple.
Sign Bellamy and other players of the same qaulity, players of with , passion and skill. This I believe would ensure full houses for the forseeable future. Yes we want to win things. Nonetheless football is part of the entertainment business, entertain us and we will back the club to the hilt.
We all know the club is not fullfilling its potential due to the constraints of the spl. Therefore we need to make a greater effort to support the club during this period.
Clearly we are still grieving the departure of the KING. I believe you would be hard pushed to reciprocate the feelings and emotions felt on the day he played his final game for us at any other football club.It was respect and love on a grand scale.
Regarding the epl or any other move, if the talk was confined too punters in the local of course you would dismiss it and move on. However it is not, it includes a billionaire who just happens to be in bed with other extremely rich people with substantial shares and influence in th worlds biggest and richest club, not taking into acount the emergence of chelsea which no one in the world can really match at the moment. Change will come it is just a matter of when.
We are all still getting over another year of not getting into the qaulifying stages of the champions league. We did have the toughest group however and that should not be forgotten. We all want the likes of seville back and we want it more often.
Flower of scotland, belt it out when its appropriate, just like I do the soldiers song, they both have a place in my life but at different venues. Thats the beauty of multi cultural, multi religious and a multi faceted society. Im scottish with both scottish and irish lineage and I will sing both anthems when I feel it is appropriate. Try telling a west indian, indian, pakistani, or any other person from poles too arabs and jews brought up in Gran britannia that they cant celebrate their hstorical culture and lineage. I dont think so.
-
Spot the April Fool
http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=1849
Regards
-
Spot the April Fool
http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=1849
Regards
-
Spot the April Fool
http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=1849
Regards
-
Paul,
Something I thought about some time ago with the freddie edu and nike deal, what do you think about the possibilties of a group of celtic fans being able to invest money in buying the contract of a player ( i.e bellamy 6m ) and the club paying the wages, with the investors benefiting from any possible future sell-on.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
<<
Home
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
