The Scotsman did an interesting article today on the fact that recent attendances at Celtic Park have fallen well short of the circa 46,000 paid for tickets, the majority of which are season tickets. It touches on several issues.
Suggestions that a league in which Celtic inevitably process to the title is less attractive to the spectating public than a league with a competitive challenge is not a surprise. It would be bizarre otherwise.
Still, many Celtic fans continue to support the club for a whole variety of reasons: we want to see it prosper, we enjoy going to games with our family and friends, and, unsurprisingly, we enjoy watching football.
Anyone who doubted that attendances would soften after Rangers were liquidated should have widened their survey sample. For most of us, this was a welcome change. The joys of beating Rangers were undeniable, but most of us have a deeper relationship with Celtic.
The Scotsman predict that in the event there was never a “team called Rangers in the top flight” Celtic would endure some serious downsizing. If we remained within the confines of Scottish league football this is undeniably true. So what? There would be little competition, less income, fewer signings and more promotion from the youth team.
In this scenario there would inevitably be fewer Champions League nights too, but in the big scheme of things, would we want it any other way? Of course not. Celtic will be there, in sunshine or in shadow, playing football and paying their bills. I’d sign up for this right now.
There is, of course, the question of how welcome our continued presence in Scottish football would be with the prospect of not just winning 10-in-a-row, which I hear our favourite Sevconian, Ally McCoist, is now discussing as a possibility, but the realisation that 10 would soon become 20, or 30-in-a-row.
All Celtic can do is continue to win football matches, pay their bills and see off all challengers. The game here is irrevocably broken; the consequences of this will continue to emerge in the months and years to come. All we know for sure is that Celtic will prevail, no matter which scenario plays out.
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Jude-i put a fiver @ 33/1 he signs for us…..get the impression it’s a long way back for Tony Watt.Really hope i’m wrong,the first guy since Aiden came through to excite me,as i think he has all the tools to be what we are crying out for.I thought it was unfair to play him on the left ,rather than try to establish himself in his natural position.Maybe needs a strong advisor to give him a shake.HH
Stringer Bell
Do you honestly believe they wouldn’t have stopped us if the roles had been reversed ?
They imo would have relished killing us off, the media would have joined in the killing, as would all the powers in the land.
Just my humble opinion mind you.
HH
petec
Theres also a lot of strain on the parents too with no financial help re travel costs. Spoke to a man who’s son is at Stenhousemuir and his wife has to take him there 3 nights a week cos he’s not in from work and they have 2 other kids to amuse as well. She has to stay there till training is over. He reckons it adds about £40 to their fuel bill.
BadaB
Someone asked earlier if Jim McGuinness was still at the club, didn’t see a reply, he, if still at the club could take young Tony under his wing !!!
HH
PB.
Thanks for the lift home..
Yon bhoy was worth the late pass..
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo
23:05 on 30 December, 2013
Do you think they will be advertized as Old firm or New Firm?
Stringer Bell,
As SFTB says, it is Most important that we ascertain that they are a NEWBIE team.
I dinnae know why this has not been Nailed yet.
If a new team, then we can sort them out. If Not? horrific consequences and Sandy Lane Gnostic nonsense will be the end of this Administration.
Paolosboots, it’s a concern, for me at least.
The club have made a couple of nods at the new club, mentioning the last ever OF game in the review of last year, PL’s quip at the AGM, but nothing definitive.
It would cause me a dilemma if they advertised an OF game, and I don’t mean for that weekend. Why should Celtic suffer for the misdeeds of another, but if our Club, openly, embroiled themselves in that, become complicit. I hope it doesn’t happen, I worry it may.
Integrity is only a word, but without it there is no sort, just commerce.
Sort, FFS, sport.
Hate it when a good point gets messed up by bad spelling, especially mine!
Evening all, just seen this article and had a thought. And no, it didn’t hurt!
If the club are really keen to see bigger crowds and more atmosphere at games, but lots of season ticket holders appear to be picking and choosing which matches to bother to attend, then how about this?…
The club set up a facility through which any season ticket holder not intending to attend a particular match can register their seat as unused for that match, and the club then makes this seat available either free of charge (to under 16s) or for a nominal charge (say £5) to adults.
Obviously this would initially see a reduction in sales of individual match tickets, but as more people became aware of the scheme, I would envisage that all available reallocated seats would be taken up for every match, and we would still then see individual match tickets being sold for many/most games.
An additional benefit in the long term would be that those attending matches in the reallocated seats may also become paying customers going forward, and that kids whose parents perhaps couldn’t afford to take them to games before would get the chance to be bitten by the Celtic bug, and themselves become lifelong supporters.
Worth a try?
On the showings against us in the last 2 games Stevie May looks a better all round striker than Billy McKay and gave us more problems. Tony Watt is better than both of them and given an extended run of games, as a striker, with any Premiership club would prove that.
Tet
Totally agree. If roles were reversed they’d have been queuing up to bury us. Of that I have no doubt. Murray was praying for it in 94.
Good for Pat Nevin giving our defence a gee up there. There have been late chances for the opposition in a number of recent games. :-)
Greenlion2 , who you calling a moron ?
Paolosboots , BT , a pleasure .
Cowiebhoy , thanks for the push re the cufflinks/polos/etc
TET , mail.
Everyone else , Hoopy New Year if i don’t get on tomorrow.
Sanna
the exiled tim-free the dam 5
23:14 on 30 December, 2013
Stringer Bell
Do you honestly believe they wouldn’t have stopped us if the roles had been reversed ?
They imo would have relished killing us off, the media would have joined in the killing, as would all the powers in the land.
Just my humble opinion mind you.
HH
——-
I don’t believe they COULD have stopped us, no matter what they did.
Our support and broad appeal would not have allowed this to happen.
Would you let Celtic go to the wall? Or would you do whatever it takes.
We have leadership and intelligence in abundance in our fan base. Thats why they couldn’t kill us off.
IMO!
Exiting from a friends house after watching the Celtic match y’day. Interesting exchange took place with Andrew who definitely is not of the handsome variety.
“Yous win again,wait til we get into the top flight”
“Next time you are in the top flight will be the 1st time Andy”
Cue look of incomprehension.
“Andy. Do you believe that the guy who currently appears at Caesers Palace in the Elvis clothes singing Elvis songs is really Elvis ………
Why then do you believe that Sevco are Rankers? Simples.
Explain it to them in language they can understand. Not exactly grudging acceptance but a flicker behind the soulless eyes told the tail.
IntheghettoCSC
Marrakesh Express
Aye, and he would have been first in the Q to shove the hose down our throats.
Their hate for us knows no bounds.
HH
TET-Good point,mentoring young players was in his remit i think.Not heard of J McG for a while,debate last week if he was still at the Club.
B B
Hope it comes up. Puts a lot in to his game.
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/
23:16 on 30 December, 2013
petec
Theres also a lot of strain on the parents too with no financial help re travel costs. Spoke to a man who’s son is at Stenhousemuir and his wife has to take him there 3 nights a week cos he’s not in from work and they have 2 other kids to amuse as well. She has to stay there till training is over. He reckons it adds about £40 to their fuel bill.
______________
Are you inside my head?
It is wrong, but I’m glad the wee guy has a 2 week break.
Money is 2 tight to mention
The knowledgable poster tarrant, will likely, forgive me posting another Simply Red track.
Stringer Bell
For a start we wouldn’t have got a licence to play football…………..
Take it from there
HH
Just spotted the New Year ‘Honours’ list is out. I’m sure if i look hard enough I will find some crackers, but this one jumped out at me:
“Nicola Fletcher becomes an MBE for services to the venison industry. Ms Fletcher established Fife’s Reediehill Deer Farm with her husband in the 1970s and went on to become a world ambassador for the meat” WHIT?!?!?!?!?! Services to the venison industry. What does that even mean?!?!?!.
I honestly wish that the would offer me something so that i could tell them to shove it up their **** sideways. If they did I would tell everyone i could think of.
What a load of keech
TET
Think he is. Why is he not getting involved with Tony.
Bigchips @23:19
I have yet to miss a game at Celtic Park this season however my sons season ticket has been spare and going for free on more than a couple of occassions. Nobody wanted it.
The number of tickets being held aloft outside Celtic Park on match days now would indicate that your well thought of idea would be a non starter
GSCBhoy, they made the rich richer, for that they are honoured.
Once the Lawrences left Rangers’ new owners set about destroying Scottish football. Until 1985 any one of four teams could have won our league. Then Rangers spent, spent, spent with money they didn’t have, have, have. Everyone was in on the act – the MSM, the SFA, the referees and, importantly, the ‘world class’ Scottish banks.
In retrospect, the rest of Scottish football responded in entirely the wrong way – they tried to match the huns’ spend. What they didn’t know was that Rangers had bankers who wouldn’t say, ‘No.’ while they had bankers who couldn’t say ‘Yes.’
If just one club other than Celtic could provide us with real competition then Scottish football might experience a renaissance.
gscbhoy
Oh deer you sound upset!!
Tony Watt is 10 times the player these journeymen we keep getting linked with are.
Ffs…….we need quality not players who wouldn’t even have got to put out the half time cones 10 years ago……
Have our aspirations plummeted that much?
Are our expectations now just a race to the bottom to be competitive with Sevco 2015?
Stevie May…..would rather have Vanessa Mae….better to look at and probably as good at football.
Billy McKay…..would rather have Hawkeye McKay….a guy I used to work with and he was blind in one eye and 19 stone….probably as good at football though.
Ps
Spoke to Jim Mc Guinness accompanying nextgen Bhoys waiting on bus to go to Senior Ajax game. Still very much involved. Good chat about previous nights result and the 2 missed pens. I ventured the opinion that they need to practice them at this stage as they won’t get too much of an opportunity if they ever make it to the 1st team.
Jude
:-)
And still found mrs Browns Bhoys funny :-)
Doc
They already have. Youth games. PL offering the respect to Dave King off not standing in the way. Anything to save,Sevco.
I reckon DD’s idea of society differs from most of us. Our ideas and ideals are being ignored. Anyone who thinks beyond sport and charity in relation to the CFC family is being ostracized. It can’t be good. Dumbing down and privatisation and cost cutting works but not on the football field or as a badge of honour or reflection of your identity. Unless your an accountant or are more interested in our share price over EVERYTHING.
The Aberdeen fans can see it.
Old Firm
HH
Kayal33
23:20 on 30 December, 2013
On the showings against us in the last 2 games Stevie May looks a better all round striker than Billy McKay and gave us more problems. Tony Watt is better than both of them and given an extended run of games, as a striker, with any Premiership club would prove that.
___________________________________________
Forget about those players, they wouldn’t do Celtic any good in the SPL and Europe, IMO.
Tony Watt is obviously very HIGHLY rated by Neil and Neil is thinking way in advance, sacrificing instantaneous bling. Neil may well move noo I said that, if he moved he would do it for the Club, THE SUPPORT. The Celtic Support is special and is really diversifying.
mickbhoy1888 (23:29). I suspect that with a concerted publicity campaign and an online application/allocation service there would be better take-up. If I was unable to afford to attend any/many matches, I wouldn’t be travelling to CP on match days on the off chance of picking up a free ticket, but if I knew I could get a guaranteed free/cheap ticket in advance of the match, my decision would more than likely be to go for it.
BadaB-Jude
Im astounded of the forehead that J McG is not working with Tony, if he is still at the club.
Tony has the potential to be whatever he wants, if he needs his head sorting, then sort it, he is young and daft by all accounts, but if someone like J McG can get their hands on him, who knows what he could be.
HH
Said it all to me last season when a half fit Gary Hooper started against Benfica in Lisbon and a fully fit Tony Watt was left sitting on the bench
bigchipsuk
You can’t give a ticket away at the moment mate.
I think PL must know he is going to have to get a Box Office signing in to shift STs next year,if the current apathy from many continues.If not could be less than 30k STs.IMO
CowieBhoy
Saw Mrs Brown twice in the Pavilion in Glasgow and never lafft as much in all my life. Doesnt seem to come across the same on T V.
But if you like it enjoy!!!