 Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Do you want Celtic to sell Stadium Naming Rights? Vote here and participate in the debate
As we approach budget time for a new season Celtic are playing with a familiar handicap. The club are alone among Europe’s top 20 in depending on match day revenue for the majority of their income.
This is an interesting, though irrelevant fact. The more important question is what are they doing about it? What are Celtic doing to turn the strengths that they have into money?
The new Nike shirt deal will increase guaranteed merchandise revenues from £2million to £5million per season from this summer. Most other initiatives, however, will fail to inspire – I will not say what I really think about the ‘hand your old mobile phone in’ scheme.
There is one large commercial deal which could bring in many millions waiting to be done. If we were to sell the stadium naming rights we can offer a sponsor a valuable advertising opportunity. Effectively, every time someone mentions the stadium name, the sponsor gets a ‘free’ advert.
Simply put, this kind of brand placement is very expensive to acquire. It would generate millions of pounds for the club, and it is the right kind of revenue – there are no production costs behind it - so every penny could go towards strengthening the squad.
It would also mean that you are me were not funding the next spend through ticket price increases or ever more merchandising.
My guess is that Celtic needs a push. So here goes, let’s have a simple vote. Would you back the club in selling stadium naming rights? If we get a clear result as shareholders and supporters we can ask the club to act.
Time to tell Celtic to step up their commercial activities, if we had done this five years ago maybe there would have been more cash these last few years.
118 Comments:
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Paul
Excellent idea.I'd urge everyone logging on here to take the time to vote.It might just make a difference to the boards thinking on this.It's certainly more useful than £250,000 from Coca Cola.
BankieBhoy
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just voted and can't believe there are people against this... paradise will forever be known as paradise, celtic park, parkhead, whatever... this is easy money.
big push needed for the last 3 games! c'mon eh hoops!
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God sake what difference does it make,give the sponsors what they want WE will always refer to it as Parkhead-Celtic Park.
Just have to say that after the last several home games things must change. The age of the side MUST be brought down. Its ok having name like Sutton,Hartson, Varga,Lennon, In your side who have ability.Though the younger players they face may not have the same ability BUT have more hunger. PLEASE for God sake Martin take a look at the Slovak,Polish,German, Czech,Bulgarian OR any market. You don't always have to go to the inflated English Market.
Surley the player there will be technically more adept and may have the hunger we need. John Hartson love the guy BUT sometimes he looks like Bambi on ice!! If only he'd controll the ball with his first six touches!!! Ahhhh
The next month will be memorable, let hope and pray for all the right reasons.
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If Guus Hiddink had been appointed 5 years ago, we would be in a healthy financial state right now. We would also have a team of young skillfull players,rather than a bunch of overpaid, average journeymen.
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Posting Debut!
Drawing on what a few of you guys have posted already, there is (and has been for some time) a clear case for pointing the finger at MON, if only to highlight that we as a support are active in criticsing the man charged with leading the footballing progress of the 'tic.
Obviously he's achiveved great things at the club in terms of providing memorable moments like Seville and also delivering silverware, but I think people are becoming more vocal that they are in fact aware that success was acheived at a price, both in terms of a departure from our traditional and generally revered style of play, and also in that MON has (even in relative terms) spent more dough than any other manager in our history.
I also think that it is clear that MON is not a coach, and that his role at the club is much closer to the general manager of the continental model than many would believe.
I think this fact explains much of his team selection re playing players out of position,tactics, and also the type of player he favours. Compare MON with Jock Stein, as many often do. I'm not suggesting MON doesn't know football, but he lacks the skill of Stein (admitteldy an exceptional coach) who apparently was able to spot a player with the necessary technical attributes to acheive proficiency in a particular position, even tho not necessarily the one he currently occupied in a team. Stein converted Murdoch from an inside right to a world class midfielder, for example. He also was able to develop players in a manner that I feel MON cannot. Consider the impact Stein had on the careers of Gemmell and Auld, by all accounts encouraging elements of their game that others had overlooked.
MON seems in fact to harbour a tendency for making tactical moves to limit the overall effectiveness of players for the perceived 'benefit of the team' e.g. Petrov, Sutton, Valgaeren, Agathe.
One poster suggested that when faced with the option of a defensively competent though technically limted player and a less solid player of greater attacking flair, MON would and indeed should always choose the former option, as this achieves results. Is the situation this black and white? Shouldn't a coach by definition encourage the weaker aspects of a professional's game while allowing the already strong parts to fluorish?
It seems odd to suggest that players are of a particular ability and there's nothing anyone can do to change this or improve their overall performance. All right, this will be true of some players but not all.
And as for it achieving results - spose that depends on what kind of results we - the Celtic support - aspire to. Winning matches and trophies or playing football and entertaining? The holy grail is of course a hybrid of the two.
I'm eternally grateful that thus far MON prioritised the former - but shouldn't we at least be aspiring to the later?
Probably the inevitable response to this post (apart from abuse cos its so long, sorry got carried away!!) is goin to be that no-one wants to return to the dark days of the Orc's domination or the frustration of TB's tenure. For the record neither do I.
But I would be willing to sacrifice a few SPL's and League Cup's for a progression that moved us towards the football that my Dad witnessed in the days of the Lions,Hood, Dalglish, and the kind that I can just about recall from the Maestro.
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Wholeheartedly in favour of a sponsor for the stadium. Only request is that it be tastefull.
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Slightly mixed feelings on this one Paul. I do feel that tradition and heritage are two of the things that make this club so great and in many ways unique.
However, progress should not be stifled. If we can get decent money (and it gets spent wisely!) then I'd be for it. Any chance the pharmaceuticals company Celltech might be interested? :-)
Have just read an interesting article by Man Utd's group marketing director. He claims that their strategy is in really getting to understand their business partners' activities, rather than just taking their money.
He reckoned they had 74 million fans worldwide, 24 million of which are in China. That's a lot of potential money. I wonder however if sheer quantity dilutes the fabric of the core support. How many of these 74 million could tell you much about the history of the club, or vividly recall games from the dim and distant past?
He finished by saying that their core competency at the moment is running a football team and a stadium, but in the future it will move towards being "customer knowledge".
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Yeh great idea I know Ill never call it anything other than Celtic Park, Paradise or Parkhead. If we cant get in the Premiership then lets start getting creative & smarter in the ways we generate income for MON. KIWI Jim
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The Brian Quinn birdseye arena.
Just like his fishfingers NO backbone.
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It would be good if the other Celtic sights would do the same poll!
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Is the Nike deal not a guaranteed minimum of £5m per season?
Selling the naming rights of the stadium to the highest bidder, it'll still be called Celtic Park by the fans.
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This is a no-brainer IMO.
As long as there are conditions on who is allowed to put their name to it of course.
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I would be for it why not.
The t-mobile stadium as long as its not the other network i think you all know the one i am talking about.
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@Anon 1.16am
Can you qualify your remarks please? I cannot for the life of me see how Guus Hiddink could have done anything different to the financial situation that MON hasn't...
Malc (2nd post)
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If it's done with enough imagination, it'll be fine.
Most people I know refer to the stadium as "Parkhead" anyway, when it's actually called 'Celtic Park' (one of only two Scottish grounds named after the club - the other being St. Mirren Park).
Someone pointed out to me the other day the significance of the Nike deal, and the opportunity for Celtic to re-name their famous 'Swoosh' as the "Tick", or the "Tic"...
...you can see the t-shirts now with the big Swoosh on the front in green, and "Support the Tic" underneath....
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I'm all for this Paul. I think this is what's happening with Arsenal's new Stadium. By the way what about a big square outside the ground surrounded by Restaurants/Pubs/Shops/Hotel owned by Celtic like the Chelsea Village. Surely that would be a good revenue stream. If they could improve transport links this could be a money earner outside of match days. However i'm unsure of the legalities of drinking alcohol on match days
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what about
easy three points for the away team arena
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This really is a no-brainer, to use w@nky marketing speak. And I don't care if they call it the "Orange Order Masonic Lodge stadium" (though that would seem to be an unlikely option), so long as it brings in plenty dosh.
To us it will always remain Paradise.
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The renaming of the stadium for a substantial cash fee would be excellent. As stated by all we wouldn’t use that name anyway.
This might just be the financial push that we need to allow the new training facility to be built and new (younger) players to be brought in
Its money for nothing!
How much do you reckon we could make?
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I've calmed down now Paul but it has taken a while.
To put the loss in to context it made me fall out with my father and walk home from CP to Eastwood Toll. Partly due to the fact that I didn't agree with some of his comments but more to do with the fact I didn't want to listen to the media gloating on the tranny in the car home. In hindsight he was probably correct.
Firstly, I'd like to say that at the present moment, 'd fancy my chances against Bobo and Stan. P45's for both of them at the end of the season. The Celtic shirt does not shrink to fit inferior players. Both players come in to that category.
In respect of Joos, I will repeat, that man should never have worn a Celtic Jersey after Seville. He is a disaster and looks like he hits the ball to far in front every time he gets it. He plays like a schoolboy. Bye Joos.
Aiden was outplayed by a better defender who got the measure of him. Interestingly when Martin switched him, he had a better game. Why did he switch him back for the 2nd half? I thought he was poor but he needs to get to the bye line more often. A big pre-season coming up for him.
Why do we still play stan out right? Argghhhh.
Sean is well off match fitness however, i thought beattie showed a bit more and he took his goal well. keep it up Craig.
We missed Sutton so much, if the rumours are true he is off at the end of the season. Who will fill that gap, the man is immense.
Agathe, please get fit soon....oh how we miss you.
I'm not convinced hibs were a better team I'm convinced we make our life difficult. It has never been easy being a Celtic fan.
What was wrong with playing for the draw? Especially with the way we are defending......
I hope with all my heart we can hold it together but if these big players are out again this week we could be in for a really rough ride.
I'm away back to bite my nails.
Hail Hail
Martybhoy
PS Name the stadium anything as a previous poster said - who cares.
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When the idea was first suggested I was against it but after thinking about it, we need the extra revenue. Just as long as its not spent on more over-priced and over-paid players from the EPL.
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Taggsybhoy
Great work Paul, well done. I still call the "Celtic end" the Celtic end and can't remember which one is the Lisbon Lions stand from one game to the next. This is money for old rope, and hopefully some quality players.
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Celtic are not a soulless club like Arsenal who would sell anything. At least Arsenal are building a stadium with the money they are getting from emirates. What would Celtic do with the money ?
If they redeveloped the main stand, I would accept it but we all know that the money would not be put to good use and it would very likely rplace money that was put up by the board, rather than add to it.
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Paul 67,
As a long time reader but first time poster I would firstly like to thank you for creating this execellent website.
Like other posters on the board I have not always shared your views about the best way forward for our club. However, what we and many others undoubtedly do share is a love and passion for the Hoops and a burning desire for our club to re-establish itself at the pinnacle of European football.
But where we tend to differ is the price we are prepared to pay to achieve this.
Having read your articles for many months now I have been impressed with your knowledge of the financial workings of the club and the "football industry" in general.
Your ideas for generating income and improving the financial standing of the club have been well researched and I have no doubt most are realistic and workable.
Your views and suggestions are often pragmatic and certainly seem to make very good business sense.
But it is here the problem lies for me. You see, no matter how hard I try, I can never see Celtic as a business.
When it comes to Celtic I am, for want of a better phrase, an unashamed romantic.
The prospect of a move to the English Premiership or the likes of Michael Glazer getting his hands on this club are simply deplorable to me.
While the short term financial gains of such moves may be as plentiful as they are obvious I see them as nothing short of a Faustian pact with the devil.
And Celtic's soul will always mean more to me than a healthy bank balance.
Investment in the team is a must and I am all for exploring avenues for us to bring in the talent we desperately need. But let us not detach ourselves any futher from a history which we should all be proud of.
I can look back with immense pride at this club and a history filled with moments of digity and honour.
Just think of the humble origins and the just and charitable beginings of this club which was born to fight poverty and injuctice.
Just think of such immense talents as Jimmy McGrory and Jimmy Delaney who graced Celtic Park and played with such heart for the shirt and not the wage packet.
Just think of those 11 homegrown heroes who became Kings of Europe with a brand of attacking football which was toasted around the globe.
Somehow my chest doesn't swell with quite the same pride at the prospect in 15 years time of watching some £50,000-a-week mercenary strutting his stuff as Celtic (If our sponsors still allow us to be called that of course) entertain the likes of West Brom or Crystal Palace at Pepsi Park.
I am all for progression on and off the park but not at any cost. Celtic is more than just a football club but if we take the path some suggest we are seriously in danger of selling our unique history and the soul of the club to the higgest bidder.
I know my views will seem to some as dangerously out-dated and maybe they are. Maybe football has gone too far down the line and there is now no chance of redemption.
Anyway, I must go, thanks again Paul67 for a great forum. Keep up the good work.
Hail! Hail!
Wee Jinky
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You know that although sites like this show that celtic supporters are generally behind the idea of renaming the stadium, if the board actually suggested the idea the tabloids would have them demonised as money grabbers desecrating the tradition of celtic.
on another topic, does anybody have any idea when celtic will be releasing images of the new kits?
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With regards to Varga's Shampoo's comments about a Celtic Village, Paul did you not produce an article recently which used some figures and decided that the location would work against Celtic for this idea.
I don't want to put a downer on the east end, but it is hardly the sort of place that someone would book into a hotel for a break. The exception to this ruling could be Irish fans who come over for every game, and maybe stay in the Central Hotel or wherever.
I have long been a campaigner for a Celtic pub, located on the doorstep of the ground. While the club have experimented with the bar at the ground, a Celtic themed pub with old matches is what is required. Even if the prices were slightly above average bar prices, punters would still drink there. The TV screens could show old games and youth games to make it more attractive for the drinking customer.
I wholeheartedly agree that we should sell the rights to name our stadium, but there should be a number of clauses in the deal, such as if we join the Premiership etc. The club have bled the support dry with money, and now need to explore other avenues to raise funds.
While we won't get the reported £100 million that Arsenal got, it should be enough to wipe out the debt, and possibly tart up the South Stand.
Lennox Cronin
Madison Square Gardens
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I've never referred to it as Celtic Park anyway.
Can't see one possible downside to this,apart from how the money is spent of course.Wisely, we hope.
Somehow I don't see that happening though.Last time money was spent wisely by the current management was Didier Agathe.I can see us getting a good deal on the stadium and the money being frittered away on paying some mid-range Pemier League player 40 or 50k a week for a year or so, just so the management can say they have signed somebody.As has happened over the last 3 years.
Okay,Bellamy may turn out to be an exception,but I get the feeling he may have played his second last game for Celtic.The last one being the cup final.
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Martybhoy, the frustration from Saturday was enormous. For the record, I listened to my dad saying he was more disappointed in that game than the defeat in Seville all the way home.
Cannot disagree.
Wee Jinky
Thanks for your clear thoughts on the matter at hand.
I agree wholeheartedly about retaining as much of the Celtic spirit as possible, though as we both know, the club has changed beyond all recognition since Lisbon, not to mention the days of McGrory and Delaney.
As for our charitable traditions, these took a fifty year sabbatical and have only recently made a comeback.
What do we want from Celtic for tomorrow is the key question? Do we want to go back to 16,000 at each game as there was in the 1980’s, or are we going to push hard to keep those extra 40,000 coming to each game.
In reality I don’t think attendances will fall to 16,000 for some time, however, I also do not think that we can be complacent about the position the club are in right now. We either progress or go backwards.
I want to see a Celtic more akin to that when the Lions played – a winning Celtic that is. For this to happen we will need to show commercial acumen better than our competition, either at home or abroad.
Anon 12.33, one think we can hope to achieve with the site is to gain control of the Celtic media agenda back from those who would rather keep us down.
Lennox, the east end is a poor business location, however, it is the one we look like we will be dealing with for the foreseeable future. Agree with your observations.
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The comment from 12.14, this is a family site, indeed you make a good point, we are a family club, not a “soulless club”. Remember kids will read this as well.
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Celtic fans really are a fickle bunch. In recent years a high percentage of them have complained about the board not spending money, money that they don't have. Yet when there is a mention of selling the rights to the stadium name, many are up in arms.
I am referring to those on many other websites, not this one, who constantly criticise Quinn, Desmond and Lawwell, and now refer to the club as 'whoring Paradise'. What do they suggest we do to raise money?
We are stuck in a poor league, so any avenue of raising cash must be explored. Like the Nike deal, the board will explore all opportunities to get the cash, and if it means changing the stadium name to the T Mobile Stadium, The Arnold Clark Arena or the Tefal Megadome then so be it.
Michael J Hagler
Croy
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1st time poster, long time reader, thanks Paul67 for a great site. Seems to me there's one obvious potential sponsor.
I know Paul and other regulars on here make their dosh from Microsoft, but surely all Celtic fans are Apple people at heart?
Think of the new product opportunities: Hooped iPods (pre-loaded with all your favourite party songs), re-launch the coloured (apple-green) iBook, and many more...Apple & Celtic against the monopolists.
I know, I know, we should really link up with the Open Source movement, but I don't think there's a lot of marketing cash in that business model.
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I'm all for selling the naming rights to Parkhead/Celtic Park/Paradise, but there's one nightmare scenario:
Has anyone seen the new Budweiser "soccerball" advert on tv, with quotes like "Middlesbrough? Why not Red Sox United" etc...?
Westim
(Yes, i know that would never happen, i just think it's a funny ad)
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Wee Jinky - i know exactly where you're coming from. My old man shares the same point of view as you. He fears the club is losing it's identity & just becoming a corporate machine like the rest. The only time you feel a part of the club is at Supporters Club Dances & Away games, other than that they just want your hard cash.
Paul 67 - the home crowd at Parkhead needs educated. On Saturday - it was hysterical stuff. I mean we all know Thomspon hasn't kicked a ball, Valgaeren is terrible, Hartson is a lazy bassa etc, but we're trying to win a championship & we need to get behind them to a man. Every mistake made by a Celtic Player on saturday was booed & the droves that departed before the final whistle - totally out of order - We're Celtic Supporters, faithfull through & through.......aye when we're winning!
Brian Woodlock
Motherwell
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I believe this was fergus's idea many moons ago, however media and fans pressure resulted in the Lisbon lions and the jock stein stands.
If we could turn back time......
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I have to agree with other posters, if the price is right do it. It will always be Parkhead to me. We have paid through the nose for season books, new strips and other tat.
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To Michael J Hagler,
Its certainly true that supporters tend to be fickle by nature - but on the whole this is not an accusation that the Celtic fans can be accussed of. Our average home goat soared during the Rangers NIAR and ordinary fans flocked to buy shares in a team that couldn't win anything - why - because we wanted the team to succeed.
Switch to now and those supporters are still putting in vast sums of money - the club are bankrolled by the support more than any other club around Europe. Paul - this fact is not irrelevant at all - it shows the paucity of the board's ideas and ambitions.
By all means sell the naming rights of the stadium - as long as the money is used to invest in building the squad and not some posh redevelopment of the main stand so that Quinn et al can look down their noses at us in even more comfort.
As for MON - he has made some mistakes but be warned - if he walks due to the damage the boards parsimony is having on his career - we will be plunged into a very dark era indeed. No squad, no manager and a board that simply wants your cash without any questions asked.
Also some people have alluded to a problem amongst the squad - I think its pretty obvious that there has been for some time - what it is I don't know.
Quinn will walk at the end of the Season and I find it bizarre that we bring in a non-exec director (Brian Wilson) who is simply a board chrony - how independent is he I wonder.
Have picked myself up from the defeat - 3 games to go - we can get 3 wins.
Cmon the hoops!
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Paul 67 - Saturday's defeat to Hibs & Aberdeen's win at Parkhead earlier in the season flagged up MON's biggest failing as Manager - Unable to adapt to teams who play quick passing football through our midfield & succeed. Remember Villareal, Porto & Basle - Saturday was a carbon copy of those performances.
Kenny Murray
Cleland
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Although Saturday was a massive disappointment from the full first team, we now must lift ourselves for the 4 remaining cup finals that we have left. The 3 league games and the real one.
The first team is now getting on in age, and their legs are not as mobile as they once were. I feel that Hampden may be the last that we will see of many of the first team squad. I won't name names, but you will all have a fair idea who I am talking about.
The Hibs team were full of running, something that can't be said of our side, who now rely solely on skill.
Unfortunately, the Aberdeen side that come to Parkhead are similar to the Hibs one in that they are full of running.
It is no coincidence that our better form this season has been away from home. Why? Much has been made about the atmosphere at Celtic Park being the downfall. However it is something more simple.
The size of the playing surface. We don't have running players for a big park, so I propose that for the Aberdeen game the dimensions are reduced to suit our players. Rangers have done it very often in the past against us, so we should go down the road of using it to our advantage.
Findus McGuire
Hamilton
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I found this article (below) which makes it even more important that we look at every source of finance
`Chelsea tie up £50m shirt sponsorship deal
BY TIMES ONLINE AND PA SPORT
Chelsea today completed the biggest club sponsorship deal in English football as they announced a five-year contract with Samsung, the electronics firm, worth just over £50 million.
The deal eclipses Manchester United's four-year contract with Vodafone, worth £36 million, as well as Arsenal's new tie-up with Emirates from next season.
Samsung will take over from Emirates, whose current deal with Chelsea is worth £4 million a year, on June 1, with the logo "Samsung Mobile" appearing on shirts for the club's centenary season.'
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I don't care what we call the stadium as long as the price is right and, more importantly, the cash is used on the team or a training ground. Personally, if someone offered me a decent wedge of cash to change the name of my house, I would take it. The history will always be there. No player/manager/chairman/stadium is bigger than the club.
Starting to come round now after the weekend's result. To say it was a disappointment is an understatement of huge proportions. I must admit to have only liberally enjoyed the victory at Ibrox and spent more time last week in apprehension about the Hibs game. As far as I was concerned, it was the most important game of the season so far. To be 5 clear with 3 games to go, would have been too much to lose. But for whatever reason, we just did not perform. But it is gone now and in the past, it must remain.
There are 3 games to go and we need to win them all. At the moment, I am as nervous as hell about them all and can't even picture us winning any of them if we play like we did on Saturday. I am actually glad that most of our games are away from home, as we seem much more comfortable away from Celtic Park. I think (with my optimistic head on) that we will win both our away games. However, I am VERY worried about the Aberdeen game. They seem to have the knack of playing against us this season, and if we don't score 2 early goals to kill this game, then it could be a very edgy ride, especially if the hun go top on Saturday.
I am not entirely happy with MON and the way things have gone this season (it really seems like the longest season ever, with all these twists and turns - It feels like Wim's season when we just couldn't finish the thing off), but I put my faith in him to turn things round and go on to win the Double. In the close season, changes NEED to be made. We all know it. But for the next few weeks, we need to try to forget about this and concentrate on the here and now. The players don't want us bickering, booing and talking about their replacements, when we should be cheering them onto a famous league and cup double.
Let's get behind the Hoops when it really matters. Let's finish this season in style and remember it for winning back to back Doubles.
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Anon 1.13
Gave me a good laugh, thanks.
The day open source or Apple start to make gains on my Microsoft market I am in trouble. Might need to take this web stuff more seriously then.
Keep up the good work Bill67 from Seatle.
Brian Woodlock, as we both know, many Celtic fans who attend today did not attend in the not so distant past. All are welcome to support Celtic as they see fit, however, you are right, failing to offer support will have a negative effect on the team.
Anon 1.33, I have no doubt that left unabated the media would hijack this idea and convince many it was a bad idea. This is why we need to answer this question with a clear resounding voice, so that fan pressure can push the club forward on it.
Kevin Murray, if only Hibs were a carbon copy of Villarreal or Porto. I fear they are several leagues below them.
Celticbhoy, you are right. If we want to compete in the same competition as these teams we cannot afford to ignore good commercial income.
Lots of comments along the lines of ‘if the price was right’. This is, of course, the key, however, now that we have realised that circa £10million per season would be more than enough (which we would never get), they only question is how much, not whether we do it or not.
That comes down to good old fashioned sales skills.
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In Germany it is usual to do it.
Schalke = Veltins Arena
hsv = AOL Arena
Bayern = Allianz Arena
and so on.
They get between 2 and 4 Pound per Season!
Up the Celts and St.Pauli
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Is Bellamy "it" for next season, or has anyone got any info re other possible signings. Given recent results is it not apparent that this squad needs major investment if we are not to start going backwards - hope it wont be another summer of overpriced panic buys. If selling the stadium rights will allow us to bring in another quality player every season then how could anyone be against this.
Now perhaps someone could explain how celtic, i believe the 13th? wealthiest club in Europe on total annual income probably have the shallowest squad in the top 50(apart from the huns) - i appreciate the need to pay extra to get quality to come to the spl, but are we getting value for money?
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If the money is right this to me looks like a no-brainer...
A quick hop across the atlantic and you can see that the majority of stadiums in American Sports have named associations.
Here are the biggest deals:
Houston Texans have 'Reliant Stadium' bringing them $10 million a year.
Atlanta Hawks have 'Phillips Stadium' bringing them $9 million a year.
Washington Redskins have 'FedEx Field' and bring nearly $8 million a year.
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At 3:01 PM, Anonymous said…
“Now perhaps someone could explain how celtic, i believe the 13th? wealthiest club in Europe on total annual income probably have the shallowest squad in the top 50(apart from the huns) - i appreciate the need to pay extra to get quality to come to the spl, but are we getting value for money?”
We’ll as I understand it the report by the accountancy firm only looked at income not expenditure so as Paul67 has said ( forgive me if I get this wrong Paul) we have to look at the amount of money other teams get from the TV rights they have which have very little cost implications to the club. My way of thinking about it is like your costs to get to work, if you earn £100 per week but you live next door to the factory you have no deductions so £100.00 to spend but if you have to spend £50.00 to travel to work you only have £50.00 left.
As for the other point I was thinking along the lines of what Mourinho said about the size of his squad that he wanted it to be no more than 22 players i.e. one for each position, looking at the Celtic squad it would be impossible for us to get near that with quality players.
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We've just blown the league, the cup final which we'll probably lose will be like a wake, our messiah manager has just been exposed as a tactical dud, the media are getting ready to tear us to shreds, so no newspapers for a wee while, we'll no be able to watch footi on the telly cause all you'll see is grinning rangers players / fans, we've got a squad wi the likes of Bobo Bobo, ross wallace, sean maloney, david fernandez, magnus hedman, rab douglas, david marshall, (I can't believe all 3 goalies are duds) stephen pearson, joos vagharen, momo sylla etc, all on big money, we're paying the other over weight unfit guys even bigger money , who cares what they call the new stadium, how about Humpty Dumpty Park. Trench.
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We've just blown the league, the cup final which we'll probably lose will be like a wake, our messiah manager has just been exposed as a tactical dud, the media are getting ready to tear us to shreds, so no newspapers for a wee while, we'll no be able to watch footi on the telly cause all you'll see is grinning rangers players / fans, we've got a squad wi the likes of Bobo Bobo, ross wallace, sean maloney, david fernandez, magnus hedman, rab douglas, david marshall, (I can't believe all 3 goalies are duds) stephen pearson, joos vagharen, momo sylla etc, all on big money, we're paying the other over weight unfit guys even bigger money , who cares what they call the new stadium, how about Humpty Dumpty Park. Trench.
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I still call it a Marathon bar so if the club can make some money from this it won`t change our lives.
Players wages are now too high for season tickets to sustain. Something has to be done!
Ian
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3:40 PM, Anonymous
My overriding thought is that it will be a long summer and we can put up posts both positive and negative then, so in the meantime we have to get behind Celtic, players management and board.
As I posted up on another thread we have a 3 game season
(at that time I felt we had to win 3 out of 4 games now it is 3 out of 3).
The defeat to Hibs means in real terms that the victory at Ibrox turned into a draw, I heard may commentators say that only a win for Rangers would stop Celtic winning the league – they didn’t.
This is very like the season of 7 years ago but with the Huns doing the chasing. To paraphrase Win Jansen (again) `we can only win the next game not he last.’
If for no other reason than to be able to say to yourself “I did everything to support Celtic” get behind the team now after all what at this time is the alternative?
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To quote Martin O'Neill, "We have been punching above our weight all season".
However when we needed that fighting spirit on Saturday it was nowhere to be seen.
Mick Cronin
Cleland
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CHAMPIONS TO BE CROWNED ON SUNDAY
The reserves have today officially clinched their fourth consecutive league title, removing the tiny probability of a mathematical miracle denying them their rightful triumph. A 1-1 draw at home to Dundee was enough to finally put them out of reach of Livingston.
Momo Sylla scored the title-clincher (I bet you never thought you'd read THAT statement!), and David Fernandez managed to get himself sent off... probably hoping that he might help Livingston's cause bby leaving Celtic a man short. Or am I just paranoid?
The trophy is to be presented prior to Sunday's match with Aberdeen, and this will hopefully inspire the underperforming first XI to go that extra mile over the next 4 games to secure their very own piece of history.
Trophies: That's what it's all about.
Taken from www.CelticFC.net:
"Scottish Premier Reserve League
Tuesday May 3, 2005
Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie
CELTIC… 1
Sylla 57
DUNDEE… 1
Voigt 44
It was the day that 10 men won the league, officially at least, with Celtic’s reserve team claiming the point that confirmed their inevitable coronation as champions for a fourth successive season.
Momo Sylla’s 57th minute-strike was the all-important goal that helped Kenny McDowall’s Bhoys come from behind against Dundee to removed altogether the possibility of an unlikely late charge from Livingston, and even the dismissal of David Fernandez failed to take the shine off a remarkable achievement for the club's second string.
Sylla and Fernandez were, in fact, just two of a posse of seven players brought in for this game from Martin O’Neill’s first team squad and, against a youthful Dundee side, it was expected that the gulf in class would be apparent from the off.
So it proved, with the Hoops quicker to master a treacherously slippy surface, forcing a string of early opportunities that their visitors were fortunate to survive.
That Dundee kept their heads above water was generally due to a combination of luck and resolute defending, though it was unquestionably the former that Stephen McNally had to thank in just the second minute when he very nearly handed Celtic a gift-wrapped opening goal.
Under no pressure whatsoever, the Dundee right-back appeared to lose his bearings as he directed a dreadful clearing header straight to the left boot of Ross Wallace and was doubtless mightily relieved when the Hoops youngster’s searing volley was blocked by the backside of Neil Clark on its way to goal.
At other times, Dundee owed their survival to French goalkeeper Francois Dubourdeau, who in eight minutes made the first of countless fine saves, tipping wide from Shaun Maloney after the bustling little Bhoys striker had cut in from the left beyond the challenges of two Dee defenders.
Celtic appeared to be nearing a breakthrough at this stage and yet, from the resultant corner, they had only themselves to blame for failing to take the lead.
Not that there was anything wrong with Wallace’s inswinging delivery, which arrived at pace on the head of the unmarked Scott Cuthbert, but there was no question that the big centre-half should at the very least have directed his header on target.
Instead, it flashed wide of the left-hand post, leaving Cuthbert with head in hands and Celtic to start afresh with their attempts to break the deadlock.
Soon after, they were nearly aided by yet more comical Dundee defending when a woefully short back-pass from Graeme Hay left Maloney in the clear, but although the little striker lobbed past Dubourdeau – who clattered into the youngster for his troubles – pace and direction were lacking and the ball trickled harmlessly wide of the right-hand post.
Celtic were now all but encamped in the Dee half and, in 27 minutes, the visitors again had their goalkeeper to thank for keeping the scoreline blank when he produced an excellent save to tip wide a fearsome left-foot drive from Ulrik Laursen after the big Dane had made a neat exchange of passes with Wallace.
It was at this final stage that all McDowall’s side’s concerted pressure was breaking down, with their first half efforts summed up in 36 minutes when Maloney skinned McNally with a clever step-over only to blaze his shot over from close range.
All the while, and despite Dundee having barely crossed the halfway line for the best part of the opening half, there lingered the nagging threat of being stung by a sucker-punch, and this was just the fate that befell Celtic with a minute of the opening period remaining.
Dundee, to their credit, broke quickly and effectively, Scott Robertson spreading the play wide to Kevin Cumming, and when the cross arrived in the Hoops area, Jon Voigt reacted quickest to fire in a volley squirmed through the legs of Rab Douglas on its way into the net.
Celtic could only have been stunned by the injustice of it all and, when their reappearance for the second half coincided with the arrival of torrential rain, they might have taken it to bode ominously for the 45 minutes that were to follow.
As it was, and though the second half wasn’t without its share of drama, it did see the Hoops secure the point they required, with Sylla grabbing the all-important goal on 57 minutes.
This time Dundee were the victims of a slick break, with Wallace racing down the left flank, working the ball inside to Maloney, who in turn applied the faintest of touches to divert the ball into the path of his Guinean colleague. Sylla, who was charging in at the back post, then duly obliged with an emphatic finish, rifling the ball beyond the helpless Dubordeau from an acute angle.
At this stage, one fancied Celtic to go on and win a match they had dominated throughout, but just four minutes after Sylla’s leveller, their hopes were dealt a blow when Fernandez received his marching orders in bizarre circumstances.
The Spaniard’s anger stemmed from referee Graham Chambers’ inaction when Mark Allison appeared to haul him to the ground as they chased a long ball over the top, an incident about which he continued to complain as play raged back to the other end.
Chambers reacted by stopping play to show Fernandez a yellow card for dissent and then, to everyone’s amazement, followed it up with a second yellow and, inevitably, a red after the former Livvy striker was adjudged to have muttered something as he walked away.
Yet, even with a one-man deficit, Celtic continued to dominate and might have gone in front on 71 minutes when Maloney drifted in from the right to flash a left-foot shot just wide of the far post with Dubourdeau beaten.
The Hoops' dissatisfaction with the referee also increased seven minutes later when he denied what looked to be a stonewall penalty claim after Maloney was taken down by the sliding challenge of Graeme Hay as he burst into the box.
Even this injustice could not, however, deny Celtic their title-winning point, and McDowall’s side – whose celebrations at the end were of the muted variety - are now likely to be presented with their trophy in front of the Hoops faithful at half-time on Sunday.
CELTIC (3-5-2): Douglas; Cuthbert, McManus, Laursen; Irvine, Lawson, Lambert, Fernandez, Wallace; Maloney, Sylla (Quinn 65)
Unused Subs: Wood, McParland, McGlinchey, Gardyne
DUNDEE (4-4-2): Dubourdeau; McNally, Allison, Hay, Clark (Conway 76); Cumming, Barret (Hendry 82), Robertson, Reilly; Voigt
Unused subs: Murray, Axon, McLaughlin"
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Anon, 3.40pm, and your twin brother a minute later...Your having a laugh, right? Either that, or you must be a bluenose.
Don't panic, we'll do the needful to win the double, I'm sure.
Then it's time for a revamp in the summer. Until then, we ALL get behind the team.
Celtic for ever!
PM
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Celticbhoy, you are correct, the so called ‘free-money’ phenomenon, as selling naming rights would be.
Anon 3.01, Bellamy will not be “it” next season. Lets just hope that he is a start, though either way there will be more comings and goings this summer than the last few.
Really hurts to see the way the manager who has taken us from a perennial joke to a European final by abused in such disrespectful terms as has appeared here from a few. Who would want to work for Celtic when this is what he gets during his first bad spell (even though he will probably still win the league).
What perspective would the greatest fans in the world bring to this matter?
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From Anon 3.40
"We've just blown the league, the cup final which we'll probably lose will be like a wake, our messiah manager has just been exposed as a tactical dud"
Lets not forgot that messiah manager has brought us league titles 3 out of 4 years(the one we lost by one damn goal).
I am not going to name all the sides we have turned over on our way to seville and or other european adventures before seville and after but it stands up with the best of them.
Im not saying MON isint open to critisicm ever.
But he gets it right more than he gets it wrong.
Considering we are at a transitional period as a club and we still have the league title in our hands and a scottish cup final to contest thats quite impressive.
I am confident we will still win this title.
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Criticism of Martin does often look crass. We have been remarkably consistent for nigh on 5 seasons. We have been outplayed perhaps on 6 occasions out of 187 league games.
These players will as usual give us everything they have. That deserves respect!
Ian
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regarding the stadium, we have to get a sponsor for the stadium. i said here last week how much coventry are getting and they're 1st division. and for those who talk about heritage fair enough but look at the billboard that is carling on the hoops. it won't be like arsenal because theirs is a new stadium while ours will always be celtic park and for £5 million a season i'll call it sally mc moist celtic park if need be! regarding saturday we were shocking but those slagging MON need their head examined. yes we lost but we lost to a decent team playing good football and we were missing 2 of our best. you have to be realistic the standard of the team have slipped back in recent years beacause of lack of funding MON can do nothing about that. MON is the second best manager we ever had and could have walked in his time but he loves the club. we need to belive in him and the team. we're 2 ahead not behind. keep the faith
savo13
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by the way adrian 1888, blown the league what are you on about? we're 2 ahead. MON a dud think about what your saying? who do you want johnny barnes or super lou macari back. don't want a slagging match but think about it
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The only companies who would be interested in taking the naming rights to Parkhead would be Irish such as Guinness or Ryan Air.
No international company would risk tarnishing their name by being connected with supporters who regularly sing about the IRA.
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savo13...wrong guy! Adrian's only quoting the anon poster at 3.40pm today.
I questioned the same punter too for his ridicuous remarks.
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savo 13
It's true to say that we have suffered due to lack of additions but I think MON could have raised some money by offloading the squad players offering nothing to the First Team.
As it is,they will only leave when their contracts are up due to their inflated salaries,leaving no scope for even the smallest tweaking of the squad to freshen it up.
I think this is one area where MON needs to do better.
BankieBhoy
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Lets hope everyone of the crowd who'll be at Celtic Park Parkhead or anywhere else they care to name it were watching and listening to that wonderful Liverpool crowd waft their team to victory tonight. Hopefully they'llthen do the same come Sunday. Oh what pleasure it was to see Mourinho's men have to endure time wasting tactics they could do nothing about.
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I don't give a monkey's what they call the park.
I will continue to call it 'Celtic Park' and I'm sure (other than sponsored events) the pundits on TV and media will too.
Give's the cash I say.
B
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Why are we dreaming up ways of making cash for the board?
Anyway, what board is going to guarantee that the money will be available for players - unless we get a new manager in.
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Naw we shouldn't be whoring our stadium out to some dubious multi-national company who couldn't spell ethical if ye spelt it out for them.
What we need to be doing is getting to feck out of the quagmire of the SPL.
To all those who say, "call it the (e.g.) Nestle stadium, it'll always be Celtic Park to me" - aye, it may be that to you, but what about the newcomers and the ghuys and ghals down the line?
Get a grip, if ye rename a stadium it takes on the characteristics of that shite and well you know it.
I've got a Celtic top on, and that crass, bullshit Carling pish just wastes it for me - how many others feel the same.
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If it means some sponsor name on the seats instead of CELTIC you can forget it.
I'd support the naming of a stand for cash but not the stadium. It's Celtic Park and always should be.
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To those who think that Celtic "traditions" are more important than anything else.
Do you support Martin O'Neill?Where exactly does the O'Neill ethos of playing the game fit in with the traditional Celtic style?
Simply put,it doesn't.But I'm sure the majority of fans are happy as long as we are winning trophies and being successful.Therefore tradition is forgotten when it suits us.
My views on making money for the club are the same.In a perfect world we wouldn't think about suggesting selling naming rights to the stadium to the highest bidder.But this isn't a perfect world,so if that is what we have to do to compete at the top level then so be it.
If we don't consider these radical ideas then we will fall behind the rest of the big clubs in Europe.We need to recognise that.Time to wise up and stop the empty rhetoric that gets spouted so often when we discuss these things.
If the idea is so abominable to some,please tell me what you would do differently to bring in extra cash?
BankieBhoy
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I don't support re-naming the ground and I'm struggling to support O'Neill just now.
Is his mind on the job at all this season?
New contracts for Hartson, Sutton, Thompson and possibly Lennon. Come on, move on.
These guys aren't cutting it anymore, except Sutton but he can't play more than a few games in a row without picking up injuries now.
The money on their wages should have been spent on younger, fitter players. Unless he's looking at resale money?
This summer is his big test(whatever league outcome is) and can we afford to wait until August 31 for our new signings?
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Taggsybhoy
Well said Derbyshirebhoy!Great to have a bit of good fitba' news this week. What goes around Jose, eh!!
On the stuff about Celtic selling its soul by naming the stadium. Well, we, the fans are Celtic's soul. The players won't play for nothing. Not even Neil Lennon.
We will not see the days of 11 working class guys from the Glasgow area winning the European Cup again. Fact.
If you accept that we are going to have to pay top dollar to compete in the Champions League (which is what I assume the opponents of the branding of the stadium want too)then the money has to come from somewhere. That is non-negotiable. The alternative is being "pure" and "untainted by commercialism" but stuck at the level of SPL challengers and no more.
When you watch the Champions League, do you go out and drink Amstel beer or buy those bloody tyres (whose name I can't remember!)? The ECL is a total cash cow, a citadel of capitalism, driven by dosh and run by Europe's cartel of the economic elite. But its great football and do you not love those European nights? Better than scrapping with TFOD anyday, in my opinion.
Scottish football and the Brother Walfrid Celtic were a product of the industrial revolution. Did Livingston exist in 1888? Where are Renton, Third Lanark and Queens Park now? The challenge is to embrace the new reality of globalism, while keeping Celtic's unique soul. As Paul said, we give more to charity now in the "corporate" Celtic than we did in the Kelly/White days, when we were "ethical", whatever that meant.
I think the fans are smart enough to play the game. Putting a company's name, especially (but not exclusively)if it is one compatible with the ideals of the club would not detract from what we the fans do as supporters. When you support a team like Celtic, commercialism now goes with the territory. I don't like it or dislike it. Its economic reality. The alternative is supporting East Stirling.
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Reading some of the comments posted with this thread I believe some bored bluenoses are on to stir it up.
The financial position we're in wont change,in the short term, so an original thought is worth exploring and as has been said it is making sure we sell the product properly to gain a liability free income stream. No biting the hand off the first offer and under selling a world renowned name.
The more people that vote on this thread the bigger the statement we make to the board.
Hail Hail
Alan
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I sent in a letter to fergus McCann 10 years ago on this subject, suggesting that the soon to be completed and unimaginatively or naffly (not sure if that is a word)named North Stand be offered to Coca Cola or McDonalds or such like global brands, as the Coca Cola etc Stand for a sizeable sum, for a 5 year period.
I thought this would be the best time for such a venture when the stadium although not being completely moved was being rebuilt under a glare of publicity. To appease the fans the stadium could have been re named The Jock Stein Stadium or stay as is.
As usual, as a fan sent in the letter it was deemed as a non starter (we dont know if he wears a suit or is the full shilling or maybe we'll have to give him a free seat next to Rod Stewart and Billy Connoly if we use his idea). I received a dear John letter signed by fergus, quite a nice Dear John letter mind you. Passed onto the marketing dept, thanks very much etc etc.
I'm sure there were a few such letters at the time, why are we always so slow to react or even debate?
I felt a bit daft and thought it was maybe a bit off the wall until i saw the likes of Boltons stadium being named Reebok etc a couple of years later.
My faith in Celtics money making ventures before and since then dont leave me with many positive thoughts, though the Nike deal is good (though they have been after us for years, why did we stay so long with Umbro!!?).
I think the right time may have passed for the name change as the stadium has been in place for a good few years now, but if reasonable amounts of money for a fixed period can be garnered, lets go for it.
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This country used to be revered worldwide for its engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Glasgow In particular produced some of the best scientists and engineers in the world. Now, due to lack of forward thinking, our countries claim can only be that we have some cracking call centres and shopping malls! I would not call this progress. Would any of you?
My point is that if Celtic does not allow itself to evolve, our club will end up like the Glasgow shipyards……………
Sell the naming rights, sell the stadium if it would make financial sense to do so (as I think it might) but don’t try and write history for the coming generations based on a romantic notion of the past. Those days were great; no doubt about it, but time stands still for no man, not even Martin O’Neill.
It would be fantastic if Celtic had the wherewithal to walk away from corporate sponsorship entirely but today we are seeing football in which cash is an important driver for results. Even if we could “grow our own”, development still costs.
Money talks. You might not like it, but that is how it is and its not changing any time soon.
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Savo13 @8:08pm sorry have to disagree, investment not the reason, MON could sign several new players but he would still put HIS side on the park, the only signing to go straight into the team in recent years and stay there is Bellamy, other wise it has been the same team week in week out for 4 years minus the King
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Not only was it a joy to see Chelski lose last night but did anyone notice who the ref was (no not steve buscemi even if he is his spit)......who has the last laugh now Jose......ha ha ha ha. Best team lost eh? Quite glad to see the Liverpool fans and their team get through. I had a wee smile for all my scouse mates as I know what it means to them (the same as it does to us) and bhoy did it show.
Good luck Liverpool
Hail Hail
Martybhoy
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Dear All,
Not everything in life is, or should be, for sale.
I exist daily in a corporate world where ideology has long since departed...and so I look to Celtic, OUR football club, to provide inspiration and breathing space from the rat race.
Please have a long hard think about the message and the ultimate destination we may arrive at should we go down the road of 'selling' Celtic Park to the highest bidder. What's next?
Everyone has a valid opinion, and mine is no less than yours, and vice versa. Should Celtic go down this road of becoming nothing more than a corporate branded collection of logos, then I'll vote with my feet. Heartbroken.
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Slight change of topic...
Many of the discussions become so repetitive and seem to be characterised by extremes ranging from MON is a Messiah, to MON should be shown the door, that a reality check may be advised.
Having seen the Liverpool/Chelsea game last night I think there's lots of interesting parallels to many discussions which occur here.
1. The Atmosphere
Even on TV, this was second to none, and not a "controversial" or "disrespectful" ditty to be heard.
Really brings home that so many of the current support have jumped onto the bandwagion of success. Where were they in the 80's? Do any of them remember having to watch Jim Casey, Mike Conroy, Vic Davison …..
I think that there is also a portion of the prawn sandwich brigade as Roy Keane calls them (albeit a more downmarket type than those at Old Trafford) who also do not contribute to atmo. We need to accept that Celtic are a business, and c.30,000 of the season ticket holders are customers, while c.30,000 are fans. This is a consequence of commercialisation which has marginalised great numbers of the traditional fan base.
The 57,000 who turn up to every home game are not TGFITW. Fact. It has been seen only too often in recent weeks.
2. The Managers
Interestingly, the previous managers of both teams were subject to ridicule (compare CFC).
As can be seen, neither was that far away from being successful. Perhaps critics should take a sharp intake of breath before spouting out.
3. The Teams
Liverpool did not play the Liverpool way. They were happy to contain Chelsea at home. This would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. Comparisons to Celtic?
Chelsea without Duff / Robben, playing against two big central defenders, were pretty one-dimensional despite having spent millions on a squad over the last few years. Makes the decisions of the Celtic Board fall into perspective.
Makele playing Lennon's game, Drogba adopting the Hartson role, Huth at centre forward reminiscent of Varga when we've fallen behind. The long ball game. Again many comparisons to Celtic?
Both teams played ugly. One is in the final of the Champions League. Maybe MON is doing something right after all.
KD FfM
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Is it fair to compare L'pool with Celtic? They made it a uefa final, so did we, we both played catch up but they managed to make it. Now just a few years later they've done it again. Question - how many of the same squad will be involved in the two finals for that team? Therein lies a tale for comparison for sure.
As for Makele like Lennon, and Drogba compared to Hartson, wishful thinking my friend - never has Harston tore apart the opposition in the way that Drogba has done, last season in Europe for instance. You might have a point about the long ball though and it wouldnt be the first time this was mentioned either.
The point about the business is interesting as well but if Celtic do not look after their financial interests then it will not matter whether 30 or 60 thousand fans or customers or whatever come to watch the games, Celtic would be doomed. This stadium naming appears like money for old rope, really who cares and a rose is a rose by any other name and it does not affect anything. Maybe the ratio of 'customers' to fans is a function of success in which case the larger the number of fans the better.
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KD Ffm - i accept everything you say when it comes to playing at European level & concede that we might not be watching the 'celtic way' against the top teams. At that level winning ugly is absolutely fine as Liverpool showed last night. That's why i was especially outraged with the clowns who booed Lennon at Parkhead against Boavista a few years back for keeping possession. I agree with you about some of the demands of the fans - players were berated for making mistakes on Saturday - i found that hard to bear. When you mention some of the comedy players we had during the 80's - that's fair enough, but i felt as if i belonged more to the club in those days than i do now. After years of us laughing at Rangers debt, our board will be pressurised in the summer by braindead supporters who want us to charge on & spend money we don't have. Season Ticket money is demanded up front by the club, Talk of Stadium Sponsorship...what next playing in strips without the hoops!
I'd gladly prefer to see us persist with youth & bosmans - follow the likes of Lyon/Ajax & co or kamikaze spending like Borrusia Dortmund/Leeds etc. Think about it.
Kenny Murray
Cleland
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The abuse that MON has ben receiving recently reminds me of Advocats experience before leaving rangers when he warned Mon that it would happen to him eventually.
This is despite being 2 points ahead with 3 games to play. Mon has done a fantastic job since arriving and it's certain that he is more aware of our current shortcomings than anyone else but when have you ever heard him criticise any of his players for a bad performance in public though I am sure he is very forthright beyond the public view.
He and the team on the park need our absolute trust and support at this time and I, for one, believe Mon will do whatever is necessary to improve things in the close season and come back stronger next season and emulate what the likes of PSV, Liverpool and Porto have acheived over the last few seasons.
Hail Hail
Patsean
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Any truth in the rumour tha Bobo will be a part exchange for Michael Ballack?
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Paul67 any thoughts on the shirt sponsor with the new arrival of the Nike deal? If we stay with Carling season for '05 - '06 this will mean that Celitc will bring out a new strip for season '6 - '07 with the new sponsor on it, so we will have two new strips in two years.
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I thought the vote was about naming the stadium, not about MON.
For goodness sake let's give the man a break. His record in the past 5 years is excellent, with limited resources.
If the team is not substantially different in terms of player personnel, style and consistency in another year then I think tough criticism is warranted.(I'm not saying he has no shortcomings and he has made mistakes).
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Some excellent points as usual.
Celticbhoy, yes there will be a new strip this year and another new strip the following year, no matter who the sponsor is (Celtic have not announced this).
Important point is that the club need to make fans aware of what is going on, as if people buy the new shirt then discover that there will be another one out in 12 months many will feel taken for granted.
Time for a grown-up conversation about the value of shirt sales to the club.
The announcement about there being a “demand” for the new shirt last summer only confused the issue and sounded like a poor PR response to a badly handled issue.
Everyone wants more money spend on the team, therefore;
Celtic need to raise revenue, therefore;
They will bring out a new strip every year, therefore;
They need to tell people what they are doing and why they are doing it, or;
People will feel more like customers and less like partners in the club, and;
They will become disaffected.
Sound familiar? Decent (if not good) intentions with poor execution has led to a massive gulf between club and many fans.
Anon 11.12, Michael Ballack? Aye right.
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So what are the thoughts on Bobo and Bayern? He's under contract for some time and they seem pretty damn keen to have him. A fee of £5M surely has to be achievable.
If we can identify a genuine quality centre back and left back in the 23-26 age range at £2½-3M each, then I would suggest that we go for it. The centre back replaces Bobo and we also get a solution to the left back "problem" to boot.
Let's face it, when Bobo is good he's good... but he has dropped a good few clangers when it has really mattered: red carded in the UEFA Cup Final and the handball against Lyon to name but two. If we got a quality replacement would we really miss Bobo? And if the two new defenders were still in the process of building their reputations we'd probably initially get them both (i.e. combined) for the same salary that Bobo alone is currently clearing.
And if there are so many big teams supposedly clamouring for Bellamy's signature, why don't we persuade him to help us out a bit... We exercise the "first option" agreement to sign Bellars from Newcastle at £5M, and he signs a contract with a "get out clause" (if he really doesn't want to stay given interest from "better" leagues) if we are offered say £8M. Some EPL or Italian team then come in with an £8M offer and off he goes, leaving us with a nice £3M profit.
Wishful thinking I expect. Maybe Bobo and Bellars will both decide to stay in any case, and we'll still get the 3 or 4 other players we so badly need. Or maybe not.
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Bayern will not be prepared to pay 5m for Bobo. They are looking to offload a host of players this season.
The obvious solution would seem to be Bobo plus 4m for Jens Jeremies and Sammy Kuffour.
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Paul67 thanks for the reply, I forgot about the current strip which will make it 3 strips in 3 years, plus you will have all of the away strips too.
As I have twosons that will be about £140.00 per year on strips.
I think it is time for more than mature debate.
Paul67 did you get my e-mail on another matter for Sundays game you may wish to post up?
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The Celtic Supporters Association have planned a TIFO display for this Sundays game V Aberdeen in the Celtic End. The idea is to get a Tifo display (I don't know what Tifo stands for either) at the Celtic end so they need help putting a card on each seat.
The display will be a simple green & white hooped card display
covering the whole of the Jock Stein Stand and will be the first one ever done at Celtic Park.
Help with getting the display ready is needed as there is about 10,000 seat so anyone free on Saturday to help put the displays on the seats for Sunday please contact me via this website (with the help of Paul67) and I’ll get information to you as to what time we will get into Celtic Park on Saturday or email Brendan Sweeney at: brendan.assoc@ntlworld.com who is the main person behind this.
Lets stop moaning behind the keyboards and start rallying behind the hoops !!
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Can anyone confirm that the new Nike strips will be £70 to buy?Although the deal that Celtic got is a very good one, surely the fans are now subsidising the club indirectly again.
It looks like I'll need to carry on buying my man the old 80s strips off ebay.
Ashleigh Connelly
Mossend
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If Bobo leaves I hope MON has done his homework on a replacement.
I sometimes get the feeling that our European scouting network consists of a bloke watching Eurogoals on TV. We seem to have the only player ever to play in France to look uncomfortable with the ball in big Bobo.
Another angle on the possible Bellamy signing.
If we do sign him on a 3-4 year contract we can't really lose unless he gets badly injured .
I would not expect to have to pay 5-6 million to Bellamy as I don't think we would be able to hold on to him for that length of time. We would spend 5 million on a fee and probably get a good bit of this back when he leaves as long as we don't let him wind down his contract.
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Guys,
Am I right in saying that we will actually have more than 1 new strip this season?
With the move to Nike, all old kit is out of the window and Nike equivelants will be required. Would this not mean that there will be new Home and Away and possibly even 3rd strips?
The old strip designs are copyright of Umbro and we will not be able to duplicate them with the Nike swoosh, therefore all will be replaced in the summer.
Just wanted to check.
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Ashleigh,
If you are talking the whole strip then it is possible that that may be the price. If you are just talking about the tops, then I would think it unlikely.
The Man Utd and Arsenal tops retail for £35 and I do not think you will find that Celtic's will be priced under a different retail pricing plan than those are.
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I don’t think we have got blue noses on here at the wind up, I'm sure there are lots of Celtic fans who genuinely think we have blown the league, definitely a lot of the ones I know. The majority view seems to be that Bellamy has carried the team since January, (e.g. Tannadice). Think about that guys, he is the only reason we are still top of the league, take him out of the equasion and Rangers would almost certainly have won the league by now. Well he is out of the equasion, and we have no Henri Camara to throw on, so there is no point in throwing long balls over the top for BBJ to run on to is there - yet we are stuck with that mode of football, that’s why Juninho quit wasn't it? No guys I'm afraid it looks very much like we are heading for a long summer of discontent. Joe 90.
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I am a bit puzzled at the way we feel that our star players are almost a bad thing.
This was the same when Henrik was scoring every week, you could hear the comments about him being the difference between us and Rankers.
So what , if the only reason we are still in contention is because Bellamy did his job at Tannadice we should be pleased that someone played well.
Players like Bellamy, Larsson and Petrov are big game players and we should not feel guilty for having them.
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To those complaining about diverting from the original debate posted by Paul - its called healthy progression and diverse discussion!
On the subject of Renaming the stadium, I voted yes but would onl be in support of the idea if the funds recieved were properly directed straight into the first team.
However don't be fooled, who can forget the share issues that were promised to be given to the manager in strengthening the team -do we all remember the letters urging supporters to buy shares? -and then what happened?!!!!!! - I think we all know.
With regards the sub debate on MON, I think it is quite clear we've reached a crossroads in his tenure at the club. When he arrived we craved success and when delivered were not particularly concerned exactly how it were to be achieved.
However, over the next few years as success became ever present in many areas, this became a much more important issue and is now paramount for me and many others.
The once St Martin is now not quite so saintly and his once messiahic properties have taken quite a thumping from within the circle. It is quite clear he is a very single minded individual and will do things his way. I for one am increasingly concerned that under his management we will not progress in the proper way and in a way that we are most capable of doing provided we have the right man in charge.
Many issues have already been brought up:
-inability to change tactics
-constantly players out of position
-unable to learn from previous defeats
-improper use of budget(wages!!!!!!)
-not moving deadwood on
-incapable of dropping players when they are clearly playing below par on consistent basis
I'm pissed off with him frankly but the team will get my backing from now till the end of the season, Ive never booed a member of the club and will continue never to do so.
But its time for change -If MON doesnt change his spots then its out for me. We need a new direction and we need it now!
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Did Hibs sell the naming rights to Easter Road to put a decent, balanced, focused side on the park last Saturday? More money is not always the answer if not spent wisely nor will it guarantee Euro success (are Real, Barca, Chelsea, Juve in a European final this season?). Now I hope MON turns the team's performance around in all final 3 games, I will always be in debt to the man for his initial turnaround & Seville. What struck me however was the contrast in comments made by MON & Tony Mowbray after Saturdays performance & yes I do remember bad times in late 80/early 90's etc this was equally on par with some displays then. Mowbray knew the Celtic defence would tire with 10-15 minutes to go & it was always his intention to unleash fresh strikers against our defenders who can't cope with pace at the best of times. MON however instead of giving us constructive or encouraging comment harked on about "..never really got the credit for the 76-game run that we had here.....".How many of us were thinking "well we've just watched a load of pi$$h but hey nevermind remember that unbeaten run...etc" No not many, come Martin get the team focussed again, Ibrox was NOT the league decider! As for the droves that left on Saturday, arrhhhhh! Look, games can be won & lost in the final minutes (re. Moan U v. Bayern). As Gary Barlow says ' it only takes a minute girl....' or is that something completey different??? BIG effort this Sunday, players & fans alike....
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This summer is the most important summer that Martin O'Neill has had since he took charge of the club.
In his first close season, little was expected of him due to the poor state of the side that he had inherited. He obviously made a few excellent signings, and the rest is history as they say.
With the exception to the few signings made in 2001, very little has occured by ways of signings in between times. The signings of that first summer have carried the team alongwith Larsson and Petrov since then.
Now with many of those initial signings reaching the crossroads of their career, it will be up to O'Neill to decide, who he can squeeze another season out of and who will perhaps be better playing at a lower level.
I won't go into who should go and who should stay, but it is without doubt the biggest task that Martin has had to face in his managerial career.
For the critics of O'Neill I say, give him one more season to see what he can do. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised.
Newarthill John
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I believe UEFA insist on each club having 3 strips so it seems likely there will be 3 news strips. Though I don't imagine all 3 will hit the shops at the same time. The run up to Xmas would seem the ideal time to release the third one.
Jim V
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Sheepworryer Hibs hadn't won for 14 or so years at Parkhead so your arguement about Money not equaling success does not hold much water for me I think.
Re - Chelski and Liverpool too. Well done the Mickey mousers but please Bhoys and ghirls remember this Liverpool team was hardly put together for peanuts. Cisse cost £14m was it? Over the years they have spent millions compared to us. FCS EH Diouf cost approx £9m and he was farmed out to Bolton, compared to us with even spending cash on Bellamy we still do not really enter their transfer fee world.
Naming Celtic Park if it brings in an extra income perseason to be spent on what the manager wants great is a positive step. Working here in Cov, the new RICOH Arena looks fantastic and we should be able to attract a massive increase in any price for selling the stadium naming rights compared to the Skyblues.
Glasgow Guinness Arena (GAA sounds Ok to me )
We must maximise all revenue streams, If that includes putting sponsors names in the front and back of the jerseys a la Sporting Lisbon, well so be it if the money generated is designated soley for football purposes and not for paying share dividends. I am all for these to be paid up though, I just feel that these important payouts should come from other sources of income e.g. stadium profits not jersey! Can't go that far in selling the Jersey!!
We need more cash to invest in the playing pool. The wages bill sadly is generally always going to rise now, we must adapt to compete in this market or are we going to be like Hibs were on Saturday celebrating our first win at a ground we visit at least twice a season for 14 or so years?
Rugby Bhoy
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Sheepworryingbhoy is right we need a massive effort from the fans on Sunday.
Look at Anfield last night- every tackle, clearance, header, shy, corner were all greeted like goals. It was nothing but encouragement from the stands even when Liverpool were struggle to hold onto the ball for more than 5 seconds.
Everyone take note. Right have you took note now remember for Sunday
Right the team that’s on the park on Sunday will have its failings but Sunday or any other given Sunday from now to the end of this season is not the time to voice them.
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Sorry folks I am lysdexic today 8-)
RugbyBhoy
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As Celtic Ultra said…
"Sheepworryingbhoy is right we need a massive effort from the fans on Sunday"
So lets all get together for Sunday and as part of that I'll post up again a plea for help, please read below and if you are alble to help do so or and least on Sunday puand in the Celtic end do your part please
`The Celtic Supporters Association have planned a TIFO display for this Sundays game V Aberdeen in the Celtic End. The idea is to get a Tifo display (I don't know what Tifo stands for either) at the Celtic end so they need help putting a card on each seat.
The display will be a simple green & white hooped card display
covering the whole of the Jock Stein Stand and will be the first one ever done at Celtic Park.
Help with getting the display ready is needed as there is about 10,000 seat so anyone free on Saturday to help put the displays on the seats for Sunday please contact me via this website (with the help of Paul67) and I’ll get information to you as to what time we will get into Celtic Park on Saturday or email Brendan Sweeney at: brendan.assoc@ntlworld.com who is the main person behind this.
Lets stop moaning behind the keyboards and start rallying behind the hoops !!'
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DavieL
The stadium naming rights is a no brainer and is being debated by the Board.
MON is making the most out of his available resources - we're suffering with a sub standard quality of football because of the legacy of the amortisation of transfer fees, as are the majority of teams in the EPL. I also think we're suffering because MON had more important family issues to deal with last close season and if anyone begrudges him that then they're not Celtic supporters. The guy has taken our team from winning nothing to 3 titles out of 4 and hopefully 4 out of 5. We will always have complaints about the team - we used to criticise Lennon/Petrov in his early days/even Henke got it last season! But what gets me is the collective groaning and discontentment aimed at Aiden, he is 18 fer feksake!! He needs encouragement - the neuveau Celtic fans seem to have taken their lead from Ibrox. I saw a guy throwing his Celtic scarf onto the track when Hibs scored the 3rd - get a life!!?? If I got my hands on him Id've ended up in the jail! I said last week that the Hibs game was our biggest of the season - this one is bigger, get behind the team and as an earlier post said, recreate the atomosphere that we heard last night at Anfield. A final thought, if we don't win the league our North American tour is oot the window and bang goes £2 - £3m.
Hail! Hail!
DavieL
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KD FfM,
I don't think you're comparing like with like.
1. Atmosphere
Do you really think that Celtic Park on the 2nd leg of a Champions League semi final wouldn't be evrything and more Anfield was last night?? Comparing Celtic PArk on a home SPL run of the mill Saturday with last night is pointless.
Also, your 30,000 customers and 30,000 fans is way off the mark. Some of the most vocal are some of the most loyal fans we have - the fact that they are also vocal when things ain't going well doesn't put them in the prawn sandwich/customer category. You're over simplifying something to suit a preset conclusion.
Also, on referring disparagingly to former players, you should at least choose ones who didn't contribute. If I recall correctly Mike Conroy delivered one of the best performances I've witnessed in a Celtic jersey in the 1980 Scottish Cup final, not to mention at least two League Championships during his short spell at Celtic. A true Celt - I'm sure there are more obvious candidates to use as examples of poor quality - he wasn't one of them.
2. Managers
What point are you making? That we shouldn't ridicule John Barnes? I think the Liverpool and Chelsea teams today are vastly different to the teams of Houllier and Ranieri.
3. Liverpool played that way against the best and most expensive squad assembled in the history of English football. We wouldn't object to Celtic playing that way against Chelsea either, or Barcelona in the Nou Camp.
We object to Celtic playing that way against Hibs and Hearts in the SPL - at Celtic Park!!!!
I'm at a loss as to what points you were trying to make???
I think it's time to pray the bhoys hold it together for three more games. Most of our success of late has been because of O'Neill and the positives he has brought. This one, should we get there, might just be despite some seriously questionable decisions on his part.
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I couldn't care less what the stadium gets called. Sell it to the highest bidder. Staying with CP isn't tradition its just another example of lack of vision.
One request however. A different deal from rangers, I am sick of these stupid 'joint' deals because apparently we are all so pathetic (both sides)that a company can't 'dare' to risk being associated with one side or the other. Utter bollox.
Can I stick my tuppence worth here on O'Neill. Best thing to happen to us for a long time, however his personal PR is awful. We know he is not stupid enough to think that Dwight Yorke was what we needed, however that is how it came across. I think like Paul has stated about the club and PR O'Neill could treat us a wee bit more grown up, ie let us know roughly what is happening, give us something to look forward to.
PS
For those who will leave ten minutes early on Sunday could you please send your cup final tickets back in. There are supporters, (that's SUPPORTers....)who could certainly use them.
4 more wins Celtic. Hail Hail.
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The Dominie, you say that it is utter bollox that companies don't dare sponsor one or the other, I doubt if S&N would agree with you. Several pubs where i belong and Celtic minded had McEwans Lager removed as soon as they sponsored Rankers and according to the local salesman this was happening across the country. I agree though that we should go it alone if we could get a sponsor brave enough.
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I have a long time admiration for this blogger,and often thought (and been convinced )of the strength of the financial case that you put forward in supporting Celtic.Let me remind you of that-your argument has consistently been that from the summer of 2005 Celtic would have an increasingly better financial position from which to launch greater assaults upon the European trophy scene.
How deceived I am. You personally should feel responsible for the lack of trust in the current Celtic Board because you argued possibilities. But that is just what Brian Quinn has been doing-the possibility of great success and the possibility of great failure-so keep an even keel,though you might have forgotten all your Glasgow sea-faring terms.
I commend you to the very depths with all the other yahoos and tourists who seem to come to Paradise to leave early,who embarrass the Hoops with boos and taunts that are not pro-Celtic and now have a masonic vote on whether to sell this part or that name of the stadium to whoever wants to leave early.As Doctor Larsson might now say with confidence "Aye right,we've seen your smart asses say it all before"And from your case,my dear Paul, "beware of false profits"
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Anon 8.03 Sorry, what I mean is that it is utter bollox that that should be a consideration. Beer is possibly the exception to the rule I agree as it is fairly easy to score a point in an 'old firm' pub by getting a beer associated with the other side removed.
I mean if we were linked with IBM, Coca Cola, BMW etc or the other side were, would it really hinder them that much. We should be dealing with big companies like that rather than Larrys laminate land etc. I just believe there are many more intelligent folk out there rather than extremely petty folk.
By the way S&N apparently withdrew a lot of sponsorship from the Snake mountain 11 when carling took over. (Snake mountain - see thats two things I've learned Amortisation and not to call it castle greyskull)
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Anon 8.38
Your comment is laughable.To suggest that this blog,or Paul directly,are responsible for the current attitudes towards the board is ludicrous in the extreme.
I remember not long after finding this site that Paul suggested we should give the board a clear signal that we wanted a big spend.Do you think that the events of the last few weeks,when Quinn was booed on the pitch,have helped this suggestion?
A large section of the support have probably made sure this won't happen.As much as it might damage Pauls ego(if he has one!) it suggests to me that some people haven't been listening to him.
It is obvious that you certainly haven't.As for our "masonic" vote,at least there is a desire to try and make a difference and gauge opinion on this issue.Content yourself with continuing to offer nothing while carping from the sidelines.
BankieBhoy
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Can anyone involved in marketing explain why a company would pay good money to name a stadium that already has an established name? The situation with Arsenal, Leicester etc is quite different, as they have new stadiums that don't have established names. All the people saying they would just go on calling it Parkhead, Celtic Park or Paradise are illustrating why Celtic wouldn't get that much for the naming rights.
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To Anon at 8.38
You are entitled to your views as much as any contributer on this site. For my part, I believe the content of what you say is mistaken, but more seriously the tone in which you say it is a disgrace. We all get frustrated when results don't go well. And we all have our gripes with the board - (viz Paul 67's continued complaints about mishandling our PR). But in your case any such frustrations and gripes are no excuse for making snidey criticisms of a guy and a fans forum that is clearly operating in the best interests of Celtic and its fans.
Romany
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Thanks to Bankiebhoy and Romany for your support.
Anon at 4.15 AM
If we rename the stadium you will hear BBC news readers talk about the game at the ‘Dell Computer Stadium’ or something along those lines, just as they refer to the ‘Reebok Stadium’ at the moment.
Now consider this, how much would a company need to pay to get a name check such as this every time a Celtic is reported on TV?
The TV audience is what a sponsor is most interested in, not what the fans call it. This type of advertising will be worth millions to a lot of businesses.
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It's good to see so many people getting intellectually passionate about a debate which needs to be held over the future of our club. As for the stadium re-naming, then we should definitely get behind the idea and let a detached board know our views are not dictated by the vocal minority of booing fools.
As for the present, we need to make sure that over the next three weeks we do what we can to inspire the players who have brought us to the verge of another championship. Don't all boo or groan whenever a sparkling talent like McGeady loses the ball or tries something which doesn't come off. If anyone else wants to see scintillating and exciting football, then we can't make our creative talents scared to try playing it. Do you think that under the current negative atmosphere that Aidinho whould try his pirhouettes against the huns at Ibrox or against Nesta in the Champion's League? Unlikely - people like him or Didier need our encouragement to play the ball or we will be forced to endure the default route one style that we all seem to detest. Lets get behind them and stop being so critical or negative. We can all do our moaning in the pub or at half time, instead of actually bringing down the people we are meant to be cheering on. I don't know about you guys, but I'm a supporter, not a spectator.
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If they used the stadium sponsorship money to reduce season book costs, would anybody complain ? Give something back to the fans!
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well said chrissy morris !
This booing at CP needs to stop guys.
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Im stating the obvious here but there are two threads of conversation on this blog. So, on the first item. I voted yes. Sell the naming rights to the stadium. Seems like a good idea with few strings. Only trouble will be convincing a sponsor that there is little danger of hearing 'There was trouble today at the Nike stadium were fans were throwing coins blah de blah'. Anyway im sure that if this was to go ahead there would be plenty of comapanies lining up to have their name advertised an infinite number of times through every media stream. The initial outlay by a suitor for this advertising space would undoubtedly pay huge dividends.
In a utopian world we would all like to be like Barca and have no sponsor on the strip, stadium or any fabric associated with the club. We all want the club to be self sufficient. However, this isjust not realistic. If you want a good analogy of what Celtic would be like a as self sufficient club then look at the excellent sitcom the 'Goodlife'. We'd be the paupers at the bottom of the lawn growing our own while the guy in the big house and the lassie with the big gnashers live it up, hiring in help and driving big motors.
Now Hibs, they grow their own and they spanked us on Saturday. I wasn't there, I was in Europe on a short vacance. While Im on the subject I watched various games on the box whilst there and there a few players that might enhance the team in its current state. Jorgensen of Fiorentina, Petrov of Wolfsburg. Anyway, I digress, Hibs as I was saying. Grow their own. can we not afford Riohrdan or however you spell it? Is he better than McGeady? Would he get in the team ahead of Hartson? Just speaking out loud and I am sure from reading other comments that everyoine knows were im coming from.
We are bored with the long ball approach, bored with going 1 nil up and sitting on it. Bored with Hartson trying to win free kicks going offside and huffing 40 yards from were he should be. Good player yes great servant nice guy yes. Love the guy but hes too slow.
Lennon is also too slow. Dietmar Hamman is out of contract at the end of the season as is Igor Biscan I think. alan Thompson - ok hes not had the best of seasons. Still good for next season unless we can get money for him and spend the prfoits on a younger better player. bobo- sell him to Bayern as long as the price is more than 2 million. I actually cant believe Bayern are interested. Big Stan- hmm. not looking good for the big man. Hes looking more like Billy Connoly every week. keep him as back up. joos - this is contraversial. keep him and play him as a centre half. Ifg we manage to get him on a 1 yr deal and thing dont work out then so be it. Chances are hell end up at Norwich or Charlton and end up their player of the year. Uli Laursen- keep and play at left back. wee jakie - replace lennon in holding role if theres no money otherwise hes just worth keeping for the outstanding versatile player he is. Agathe - brilliant and an asset to the club at right back. Big Sutton is a keeper till end of next season.
i could go on. We need to strengthen the backbone of the side. A centre half, a centre midfielder to replace Lennon and a centre forward to replace Hartson. if we want a different style of play that means we go back to beating Hibs 4 nil then we need to get shot of the pedestrians in the side.
Hopefully MON has not been walking about with his eyes shut all season and can see that. The guys a hero but this club is bigger than any individual. An admission that we are shiza at the moment and we need a twelth man to carry us to the title would be good. Lets have some concession to the fans that things need to change next season but for the final push we need the fans to bundle them over the line.
Im all for winning all the time if it means a change to a less entertaining style of play. However, if we made a change to passing attacking football would we really see that much of a change to results. At least if we are attacking it keeps the ball away from bobo and stan!
We are going to win this league playing badly and scraping wins by sheer force of will. Lets make sure the players know we want to win this despite their ineptitude and the managers stubborn attitude.
Suppport from start to finish.
If they lose it now it wont be because the fans have been saying they are not playing well or the saying the manager has been using the wrong style of play. Thats down to the guy in charge and those on the park.
Faithful through and through... as long as you play attacking entertaining football!
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I'm interested in the almost unanimous view that we should sell Bobo. In the interests of balance can I ask what Bayern, one of the best teams in Europe, see in him that we don't. Also, if reports are to be believed, Bayern are conducting a fairly widespread hunt for a central defender. If they sign Bobo does it not follow that he is the best option available to them? In that case, who do we sign as a replacement?
GM
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GM,Good to see you bring up the subject of Bobo.If he's good enough for Bayern,then he's good enough for Celtic?If Bobo had settled players on the right and left of him he would be a better player,I think that's what Bayern maybe thinking,they have these guys,Celtic do not.
I'm not saying he is world class,but MON has been shuffling around that many players in different positions all season no wonder the team isn't stable.At first everyone though MON was doing a bit of testing with players in different positions but it has gone on all season now,when is it going to end?
Personally,I believe with the little confidence Bobo actually has,it completely vanishes when he has to play along side various players every week,with these players being out of position.(with the exception of JackieMC as he is good anywhere)
Even McGeady, Petrov, Juniniho, Thompson,Varga,Laursen have looked worse than they really are at times(not saying they are all bad players)
Looking forward to everyone getting behind the team,I have no doubt that all the fans will.We can all have a moan and groan during the season but NOT when there is only three games to go.
If we have confidence in the stands,it will spill over onto the Park.Maybe the green & white Hoops put on by the Support Assoc.will stir up the fans.
C'mon the 'Tic
Cabbage
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Is it just a suggestion by Paul that the naming rights to Parkhead should be sold? Or have interested parties actually expressed a willingness to aquire these rights? As long as the highest bidder isn't a firm with an stupid name then its a good idea. I heard the new Coverntry stadium was to be called the Jaguar Arena which would be the standard we would need to aquire if we were to avoid it desending into a farse!
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