What do you think of Hearts putting Save the Children on their shirts? Perhaps more appropriately, how will Hearts fans feel about their club this morning? When the next invitation to buy a season ticket, or shop for merchandise email arrives, what’s going to be the instinctive reaction?
Hearts fans are an unpredictable lot, but if this was Celtic, first to grab the headlines on Living Wage, then following up with a charity on the shirt, we would be bursting with pride, or what marketing people call brand affinity.
A football club affinity is a choice. Most of us were handed our team before we were out of nappies but we still choose the extent of our affinity – to buy the next ticket. Celtic fans have a notion that we are more of a Movement of people than a typical support – I am only here because I subscribe wholeheartedly to this notion.
For this to make any sense, we need Celtic to be the most ethical football club on the planet.
World leadership sounds ambitious, but the market for ethical football leadership is a bit thin. Between organised criminals, thuggish bullies, kleptocratic politician-owners, tax cheats, money launderers and what can only be described as disorganised criminals at one particular club, the market is wide open. This is Celtic’s natural territory. And it’s profitable!
We buy into what we see as the sentiment behind a football club and if we see Celtic championing ethical wins, we feel connected to the club.
Let’s be clear: Celtic ARE one of the most ethical clubs on the planet. The Foundation is not the biggest in the world, but it is supported by fans and club alone, not petrodollars looking for a home. Celtic FC Foundation feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, aide the needy, include the excluded. They do this in your name and it’s an integral part of the club’s mission.
We are part of the story too. You and I are part of the Foundation but Celtic fans also evangelise the ethics and standards of our club in our own small ways. What Celtic fan groups have achieved is staggering.
We have a backstory which any brand in business would kill for. Formed to feed starving children! What a story. It you planned the profile of the most ethical football club in the world you couldn’t dream up a better beginning, a better corporate story, or a better community engagement. The ingredients are all there.
Hearts fans will WANT to buy into what their club is doing this morning because their club has become ethically aspirational over a short period of time. Hearts haven’t began to scratch the surface of Celtic’s ethical marks. We are peerless in UK football – and that’s not an idle boast.
So why am I boring you with all this stuff you know already? It’s time we started to wear our colours on our sleeve, if not our chests.
‘We are Celtic, born to feed the hungry in 1888, today we not only feed the hungry, we do so much more. Come and join us.’
Make this our mission. Commit wholeheartedly, lead with it. Always. Every contact I have with the club should remind me why I’m a Celtic fan. Be confident of its resonance with fans, and all the business objectives we worry about achieving will fall into place.
On the subject………
We are close to our target of paying for another school kitchen in Malawi for Mary’s Meals, this auction will push us over the line…………
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All day Hospitality for 4 based at the Eden Mill Distillery for the Open Golf Championship at St Andrews on any day to suit from 16 to 19 July 2015. Auction in aid of the Celtic Quick News (CQN) appeal to build a fourth school kitchen in Malawi for Mary’s Meals. Shuttle transport for the five minute journey to and from the golf course as needed Beer, Gin and Whisky tastings throughout the day with the master distiller. The chance to create a unique CQN single malt whisky cask worth potentially £5000 for future CQN charities. A bottle of this very special single malt whisky to commemorate the great day when it is bottled in several years. Eden Mill is Scotland’s newest and most innovative distillery and brewery incorporated in February 2012! Located just 2 miles from the famous Old Course itself it provides a perfect base for hospitality for yourself and 3 friends on a day of your choosing at the forthcoming open golf championship on July 16th to 19th. But this is so much more than just a day’s hospitality at the home of golf. Before taking to the course to watch the you will enjoy a breakfast roll or two and discuss your perfect single malt whisky with the master distiller. Whilst you and your friends are enjoying the golf he will seek to surpass your favourite whisky by using the best barley to create the right wash and recommending the right type of barrels for our very own unique CQN 1/4 cask of single malt. A cask which will mature and provide over £5000 of future funding for our charities in a few years time. You will return to the distillery by shuttle bus for lunch and an optional beer tasting and then for afternoon tea with a tutored gin and whisky tasting with the owner capping off a memorable, unique and very special day for your group and for CQN.
My thanks to Eden Mill for their incredible support. You can bid on the auction here. |
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Gene –
Of course you have every right to observe your religious beliefs. You can choose not to go to the football on Good Friday. You can also choose not to work on Good Friday.
What you do not have the right to do is decide that I cannot watch my team play football on Good Friday.
You did not say “I won’t be going to the game tonight because it’s Good Friday.”
What you said was, “I don’t think we should be playing tonight.”
“There won’t be change this summer. If Rangers don’t get promoted, they don’t get promoted. I remember Charles Green once talking to me about paying Alloa not to get promoted so Rangers could – what a load of rubbish. If you want to get promoted, win your games. It will always be like that.
MWD said AYE
Lovely sunny spring day – way down south..
Much work to do – harvesting, washing and bundling asparagus ..Buyer collecting this pm.The remainder will be scoffed over the next few weeks.I like asparagus but ain’ t too sure about the stinky green piss.
Palermo tomorrow afternoon for Palermo v AC Milan..Palermo are favourites.One more chance to see the fabulous Dybala.Berlusconi has sold 51 % of AC Milan to a Mr Bee from Thailand..No info re whether Mr Bee has also assumed 51 % of the debt..
Buona pasqua tutti !
Big Georges Fan Club – Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar
has the wee man sorted oot tonights score yet???
Tom
i am a port vale season ticket holder and i won’t be going to the game today and i won’t be watching the bhoys tonight.
Mithras will be spinning in his grave!,
Pagans United CSC
Tom so all Isle of Lewis residents are wee Frees? Isuppose then all Celtic supporters are Catholics? On behalf of the many hundreds of Celtic supporters who live here a wee retraction would be nice. H H Hebcelt – neither a wee Free nor Catholic just a Celtic Mhan
Supporters of Scotland’ s ” second biggest institution ” should note that 51 % of AC Milan cost 250 million euros.. A wee bit more than a Brit pound.
Probably best if i log off till tomorrow
love to you all
Herald Scotland
Home > Sport > Football
Switch to summer football “being seriously looked at”
Published on 2 April 2015
Graeme Macpherson
A SWITCH to summer football in Scotland is “being seriously looked at”, according to one SPFL board member.
Mike Mulraney, the Alloa Athletic chairman, told Herald Sport that there is a growing swell of opinion among leading figures that a move away from the traditional calendar would be best for the game. Mulraney, speaking in a personal capacity, believes the World Cup finals in Qatar in 2022 switching from summer to winter presents Scottish football with the ideal opportunity to get away from playing domestic games over the colder months. The change, he believes, would suit broadcasters and other media partners, and also make the game more appealing to supporters.
“I’m 100 percent for that,” said Mulraney. “I think that those in my camp on this one are increasing in number. The guys who agree with me – there seems to be more of us. And it is being seriously looked at. There is a mood that the whole thing [in its current guise] isn’t right.
“We should be playing when the fans want to watch us, in the summer. The media partners would like that. So we should play in the summer. The World Cup [in 2022] getting moved will give us the perfect opportunity to make it happen. That gives us a target to work towards to overhaul our game. If we want a revolution in Scottish football it should be then. We should play through the summer when Sky and other media partners have no football to put out and giving them as many games as possible. People will also go out on a nice Wednesday night in July to watch a match in the sun. Whereas I’m asking I’m asking them to come out on a Wednesday night in January. They might come but they’re not bringing their six year-old. No chance.
“I’m not a traditionalist in anything. I think we provide an entertainment product and so it’s about giving people what they want and when they want it. We’ve got players playing 12 months with no break. That break naturally should be in the winter. We’ve got years to do it but let’s start looking at it in 2015, not six months before which is such a classic Scottish response.”
Mulraney also believes the poor state of pitches in winter also means it will not be long before more clubs follow Alloa’s lead by installing an artificial surface.
“I understand the Luddites will always be resistant to change but I think in a very short period of time the majority of senior clubs in Scotland will be playing on synthetic,” he added. “The mindset is changing and pitches with no grass on them is helping that. Our national stadium hosted two semi-finals recently where the guys could hardly stay on their feet [due to the poor surface]. Some purists will always say “it has to be grass” but I’ll say to them “well, go show me where the grass is in winter” as I’m fed up looking at mud and sand.”
Mulraney also felt the SPFL should tear up its media contract with the BBC if the state broadcaster did not improve the amount it contributes to Scottish football.
“The state broadcaster, I believe, is short-changing Scottish football to an incredible extent. There’s scope for the SPFL board to take a position- and I’m not speaking on behalf of my board colleagues, this is Mike Mulraney’s opinion – where if you truly believe you are not getting what you feel is a fair deal then you stop dealing [with them]. As far as I’m concerned, what we’re getting from the BBC just now is the point that I would stop dealing.
“That’s only my view but I make no apology for that. That’s not to say that I don’t think the guys in Scotland are doing a great job. I think they’re excellent and working their tails off. But how the national state broadcaster is treating Scottish football is appalling. They tax the homes of everyone in Scotland then take it and give it to English football. That’s unacceptable. We should take away their rights and try to sell them on to a commercial broadcaster. We’re getting worse than a raw deal from the state broadcaster. We’re getting taxed to pay for Match of the Day.”
Conspiracy theories that Scottish football’s governing bodies would find a way to lever Rangers into the top division if the Ibrox club fails to win promotion via the play-offs were also kicked into touch by Mulraney.
“There won’t be change this summer. If Rangers don’t get promoted, they don’t get promoted. I remember Charles Green once talking to me about paying Alloa not to get promoted so Rangers could – what a load of rubbish. If you want to get promoted, win your games. It will always be like that.
“The bottom line is there will be no change this year as there is an embargo against it. I understand how it works in Scottish football with conspiracy theories and the like. It’s all balderdash and bunkum of the type we’ve come to expect over the years.”
Tom McLaughlin 08.49
I may be wrong but I thought it was Clydebank we played that Sunday.
Happy birthday to our very own Doc
And a very happy and peaceful Good Friday to you all!
Gene –
That is your prerogative. I will be at St Mirren Park tonight.
Just out of interest. Why do you believe it is wrong to go to a football match on Good Friday? There is a Beethoven concert on at the Usher Hall tonight. Do you believe that is wrong too?
Believe me I am not having a go. It is a genuine question. Why is a football match on Good Friday offensive to you? Is football something evil that has no place on a holy day?
I really would like to know.
Going to a Tribute to Coxsone Dodd thing in Enna tonight. An anti mafia social centre fundraiser .Strictly Studio One !
jeromek67 –
You are correct mate.
It WAS Clydebank.
We won 4-0.
Greetings from Schipol airport, en route to Glasgow.
Happy Birthday tae ra Doc.
Apologies fassreifen
I thought I had noted you in that post.
Well spotted.
Can’t believe top line of that story while bribery attempt is relegated to a footnote.
MWD said AYE
Hebcelt –
Of course not all Lewis islanders are Wee Frees.
I was making a light-hearted point.
I didn’t know you lived on Lewis. I flew there once just for a day on business. Fascinating place. I left wishing I had given myself more time to see it properly.
MWD, no problem. It’s quite a story if true.
I am pretty sure the Alloa thing wasn’t a bribery attempt in the context of throwinv games.
I suspect it was more about a proposal for reconstruction that would result in Rangers going up at the expense of Alloa and other clubs who would be financially compensated.
That is how I read it.
fassreifan
It’s the only story in town.
Or at least it should be.
He says with no surprise.
MWD said AYE
Tom
And that’s not bribery/corruption?
MWD said AYE
Tom
That’s you off the black pudding list 8))
As a younger generation to some guys on here (honest)
I worked for 20 years on Good Friday in DHSS
I no longer work on Good Friday so I attend the Good Friday service and refrain from eating meat
I will go out and support Celtic tonight and enjoy a few beers in the pub
The Catholic Church has moved on and it is trying to be relevant in a more secular society.
My tuppence worth
It looks like the writing is on the wall for the hot crossed buns. Happy easter all.
“There won’t be change this summer. If Rangers don’t get promoted, they don’t get promoted. I remember Charles Green once talking to me about paying Alloa not to get promoted so Rangers could – what a load of rubbish. If you want to get promoted, win your games. It will always be like that.”
I wonder if Campbell and his other unfit for purpose cohorts in the SFA will ask Mulraney to expand on this?
Till later all
Minx, Pog, thanks, off to Glasgow to spend a day with my Ghirls.
And no work(not much anyway) until Monday 13th!!!!
Yeeeeeehhhhaaaaaaaaa.
gene.
If you lived in Italy / Sicily and were fortunate enough to have a job , you would be working today.
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPY Bithday Doc
Happy birthday Doc
Doc
Happy birthday.
MWD –
No it’s not bribery and corruption. It happened at the creation of the EPL. It happens all the time in football.
League reconstruction can sometimes result in teams in the lower half of the table, but not in relegation zone, being put down a league. So they are given financial compensation to soften the blow.
It happened when we moved from an 18 team first division to a top 10 Premier League. The teams in positions 11 to 16 were financially compensated for being moved to the second tier.
Happy birthday Doc.Lang may yer lum reek.
Tonight we play for the first time in a long time against a team not called Dundee United. What it is – a month since we played anyone else?
Never easy when players have been away. The travelling, playing in different systems. possible injuries. I haven’t heard how Nir Bitton is after his knock playing for Israel. Hope he makes it as he has become such an important player for us.
I’d expect the two new bhoys to start tonight as neither has played much recently.
Morning Bhoys,
I am in Copenhagen this evening. Does anyone have any suggestions for drinking establishments that may be showing the game tonight?
south of tunis
You grow asparagus? That’s pretty awesome. My family all love asparagus. The only way we got our 5yr old son to tet it was to tell him about the smelly pee it causes. It worked. He now loves asparagus too.
The smelly pee thing I always find hilarious.
Morning bhoys and ghirls I hope you all have a happy and holy Good Friday.
Happy birthday Doc have a great day.
I am a practising Catholic I have no problem with the game being played tonight. If any other bhoys do feel strongly against it that is their right.
On a lighter note Randy Couture of UFC fame tweeted to our own Kris Commons 2-0 win for the hoops Commons on the 19th and 27th minute. So there you have it wee bgfc top that kiddo goalscorer and time.
HH
KTF
UTLR
Seen on twitter the rag that is the DR has named the nomad ,
thems now on the case
“Investor Kieran Prior is also upset and has even named the Nomad he claims the club tried and failed to appoint in recent weeks – Cantor Fitzgerald, who failed to respond to requests for a comment from Record Sport.”
I hope they were not planning a quiet Easter
From RM
“I wouldn’t want to be the unlucky b****** having to open the Cantor Fitzgerald email account on Tuesday morning”.