Neil Lennon took his players to the vast open spaces of the Camp Nou last year, took the lead and held onto a point until the fourth minute of added time. It was an enormous and disciplined achievement. I feared we would suffer a backlash when Barcelona visited Glasgow.
What we experienced instead was more of the same. Barca played some of the most mesmerising football we have ever seen, but it took them until the 92nd minute until they managed to beat Fraser Forster, this time, too little, too late.
Barca have the best Plan A in football but they were unable to effectively change when making no progress and unable to cope with Celtic from set pieces, while their own concentration was called into question.
While our visitors will be keen to make up for their disappointing result in Glasgow last season, Celtic have their own disappointing result to avenge. The heroic tales from Milan last month count for nothing. Celtic need to show they have the necessary edge.
We are the team with something to prove. We are the only team who can leave Celtic Park tonight with any material achievement; a win would do nothing for Barca, whose place in history is already acknowledged. The only prize in the game worth having – professional honour – is only available to Celtic.
Tonight we have a rare opportunity. Take it, Celtic.
A good day to bury bad news
Rangers International FC PLC accounts, released this morning, curiously report “First team wages/turnover ratio at 43% while total staff costs are £17.9m, or 94% of turnover. I’m not convinced this is evidence of a vast and unnecessary filtering of cash out of the club. While the board and management will take a slice of the extra wages this total figure is not unusual, or unexpected. It takes several hundred people to run a football club with an average attendance at 39k. There is not a whole lot they will be able to do about this figure.
DM Hall, who produced fabulous property valuations for Ibrox and Murray Park when Sir David Murray was in charge, are back, this time valuing the assets at £65.2m and £14m respectively. This is vastly more than was paid for them last year but still a fraction of what DM Hall valued the properties at in 2005. The combined existing use valuation recognised in the accounts is £42.5m – a tidy sum, if achieved by sale and leaseback.
The club has operating costs of £33.6m while income is £19.1m. They are clearly spending more than necessary. When looking to cut costs there will be some low lying fruit (or Greggs pies) but cutting into the player budget, or back office staff costs will be difficult, while cuts to policing, rates and utility costs are unlikely.
Cash at 30 June 2013 was £11.198m, so, before cost cutting and after exceptional costs are removed, they are looking for circa £18m cash to fund operations until 30 June next year. There are several established ways to achieve this, including ticket securitisation, used by both previous owners of Ibrox.
A significant uplift in season ticket prices is also likely to be necessary. Charles Green set initial ticket prices low. An appeal could surely have been made to fans to step forward and offer support at a higher price, but Green was under pressure from Paul Murray’s various attempts to win control-while securing fan support for his Blue Knights group.
If Murray hadn’t run his ultimately-doomed campaign, Green’s need to over-promise and under-price, in order to sell any tickets, would have been different. As would the operating deficit reported today.
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If only we had a primetime Chris Sutton to lead the line tonight…
As it is, I’ll have to settle for the same tight scoreline as last season.
;o)
For we only know
that there’s going to be a show
and the Glasgow Celtic
will be there.
Gardez la Foi
Sixtae
Ready for game time is now upon me.
Looking at the tifo picture think I might be sitting on a big giant H tonight.
First time I can ever remember wee shades coming home from school and wanting an hours kip, he even tried to pull a flanker on his mum this morning saying he wanted to stay off school because it would drag in , wee chancer.
To everyone going get your singing voices ready the world will be watching.
Its Zadoc time again in paradise.
H.H.
Enjoy tonight everybody.
Anybody know about streaming from UEFA’s site? Does it offer you all the games I seem to be getting offered Swiss TV coverage which will Basel against Chelski??
Thanks in advance.
Starry
tbj praying for oscar knox
16:45 on 1 October, 2013,
I’ll pop up and see you before kick off and square you up re tickets.
——–
Billy bhoy 05…enjoy the game mate. A first in a long time for me not getting a charge before it…nightshift :-((
Oops just remember to tape the blinkin game there.
Enjoy the game tonight Celtic fans everywhere.
Coybig
Two hours
Pogmathonyahun aka Laird of the Smiles
some chewing gum stuck between your number 3 and number 2 key there Pog I reckon ;-)
Start of a MMMMMMMAAAMMMOOOOOOOOOTHHHHHH drinking session
Mon the hoops.
I will be on later on as I cant get too drunk tonight …..Win lose or draw.
I am really going to try. Really
HH
starry plough forza oscar
17:38 on 1 October, 2013
Can you not get ITV Internet stream?
Rod the Mod, warming up last night for the big event tonight:
http://nfs.stvfiles.com/img/galleries/rod-stewart-opens-the-sse-hydro-venue-in-glasgow/rod-stewart-6-x-SNS.jpg
oh oh oh oh ! getting tipsy here in Lower Saxony ….braw ! …just phoned the Main man( 90 years a Celtic man ) and he say,s it will be Braw! so hoopy nights to all Celts whereever you are …Hail Hail…2-1 the celts —the whole team to impress …and the Fans to overwhelm ……..braw !
vic ajax,
Thanks for the tip, I know exactly where you mean, going down soon for some pintxos and then have to dispatch a disinterested wife before settling in for the game, last night in SS, hope it’s a good one!
Hail Hail
googybhoy ♥ Celtic
I will give it a try Googybhoy, mostly tho’ those island streams don’t work on the mainland here, I’m no feeling to watch a sausage then lose the game!
Accounting is a mystery to me. Where does the £18 million in the bank come from? Seems like a load of pish to me….
RobertTressell
A loada pish at Morder, surely no!!
Can’t wait for ko. Hoping we compete; keep it tight; keep the ball for a while; dont get a hiding……
Whatever happens its good wholesome top european goodness served up on a beautiful dish of green paradise……
Starry plough…. Its a shock i know!!!
Watching the STV News there as they gague the reaction of the peepul to the figures released. They seem genuinely astonsihed at the figures banded about. What planet are these people on??
SSN Italia have just shown the ‘This is Paradise’ display at CP.
Looks fantastic!
They also showed the Emirates and the Amsterdam Arena – no displays to be seen.
HH!!
This is WEE BGFC. My prediction.
Celtic 4-2 Barcelona
Kojo
That was a smashing wee story that kept me entertained to the very end.
Thank you
visiting phoenix AZ, heading to the phoenix CSC
cmon the hoops
Mon the Tifo…
My cousins kid is walking out with the players tonight so good luck to Finn Ross your doing the family proud son.
HH
Sometimes the Bull wins.
C’MON THE CELTIC BULL
I liked the quote on STV when the guy said, Sally earns more than Cameron, Obama & ??? Put together. Gets you thinking: Incredible wages of over £16k a week.
Raymac
14:47 on
Definitely, been thinking that myself…. Begs the question though, what does it say about the boards faith in McCoist, that he has to be given a sledgehammer to crack a nut?
Wee BGFC, I’ll take that.
On the bus on yhe way up.
Nerves kicking in.
Team news?
awe_naw_no_annoni_oan_anaw_noo
What an experience!
Doc
Aye I would be lying if I said I wisnae jealous.
HH
Right, that’s away for the fish suppers, then on to the game.
I’ll be having mine through a straw – just back from the dentist and upper half of my hied is numb:-(.
Hope it is still numb tomorrow morning from over-celebration!!!!
Hail, Hail, the Celts are here
HH
BGFC
Awe Naw, Ill try to get a foto.
Give the Bhoys a cheer for me.
Will be cheering them on from my armchair at home.
RobertTressell 18:00 on 1 October, 2013
Accounting a mystery to me too.
Saw this somewhere, could be nearer the truth/
1) Wages & salaries £18 million on a turnover of £19 million – that’s 95%.
2) Running costs £14 million of which £4 million non-recurring
3) £2 million added to wages by nine players signed in September.
4) No appreciable increase in revenue forecast for this year.
So where are we figure-wise?
Cash in Bank – £11 million – June 2013
Income – £19 million – July 2013 to June 2014
Total available to June 2014 – £30 million
Wages & Salaries – £20 million – July 2013 to June 2014
Operating Expenditure – £10 million – July 2013 to June 2014.
Total Expenditure till June 2014 – £30 million
So, in theory they could make it ‘by the skin of their teeth’ to the end of the season. There will be nothing left in the bank, all the IPO money will be gone and there will still be an operating loss of £11 million.
Oh, and the pieman is trousering upwards of 800 000 smackers for his role in all this (not for his fitba coaching talent you understand, but for keeping the bears on track…).
2-1 for us tonight, by the way!
Gardez la Foi
Sixtae
My Dear Kojo…..
You Hiv Charlie In Midfield….?
Noooo…..!
He Is Much Too Slow…And Sluggish In The Turn…..
To Compete With The Barce Midfield….
He Will Be Stranded….Like A Beached Whale…..
Ah Suppose We’re Waiting To See If Adam Is Passed Fit To Start…..
To Weigh Up All The Options…..
But I Would Start With Charlie At Left Back…..
As This Is Not A Game For Overweight Izzie…..
In Any Case,We Should Make Full Use Of Our Substitutes Tonight…..
To Replace Tired Legs…….
As The Barce Pressure Will Be Relentless……
And We Will Not Have Our Buccaneering Cannonball Kid As An Outlet…..
To Scare The BeJaysus Oota Puyol & Co.
~~~~~~
Hmmmm…….DEREK !
Now There’s A RIGHT Hunnish Name….
If Ah’m No Mistaken….
Viva KevJungle !
Viva Chris Tore !
Anybody needing a legal site for tonights match ???
Gallowagate Alert………………Polis are hurting
Beer chilling in the fridge.
Red wine ready.
Bottle of Hendricks gin standing by next to the Schweppes tonic.
Cucumber and lemon also in the fridge, ice in the freezer.
If we win I will tan the lot and wake up on Friday!
Cmon the Hoops!
HH!!