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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817 Comments- Pages:
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starry plough forza oscar
19:51 on
30 December, 2013
I just Kris Boyd in a Lucky Bag embody want him!
Get in touch wi’ trading standards. There’s nothing lucky about that lucky bag.
CB-LB
Many thanks.
HH
‘Fulham announce that Ray Wilkins is new assistant manager’
That’ll Fix it CSC
Lennybhoy
I agree with lots of your earlier post.
Celtic is more than the team, more than the plc, more than the support.
It’s a way of life for me, comes as natural to me as breathing.Celtic have been with me through my whole life, all 44 years, through sad times, joyous times, births and deaths.
Celtic are the be all & end all, a life’s work that I for one will never , ever discard.
So like you bud, I will never ever give up on them.
Hail Hail
KTF
I don’t understand why it should mean less CL games ?
Celtic have never budgeted for CL football. We budget for EL football.
Why ? Lack of risk and the ingrained mindset that the huns will win the league.
This no longer is an issue. We have a procession to CL participation. We are more likely to win domestically and therefore that should help to offset any loss through the loss of the huns. That together with capping and reducing bonuses along with wages and transfer fees should easily compensate for this loss.
Celtic plc has no European ambition except for maximising income from our participation. Perceived participation as far as I am concerned.
It therefore follows that the same mindset will be applied to domestic competition. That is what we are witnessing and why we only have an SPL standard striker. Decent strikers are NOW out of our price range. Not because we cannot afford it but that is the prudent … I prefer the word …lucrative..policy to pursue.
I am convinced that all we have ever witnessed under PL stewardship is continual rationalisation. In the past it has bit us on the arse but with the hun gone it no longer can …until they come back.
If we have seriously being budgetting for CL football for ten years under PL’s tenure and he has not been lying then we should not be fearing the CL qaulifiers and we should be negotiating them as a formality.
The fact that we dont exposes the deceit.
This PLC does not care about 60k full houses, fan treatment, the match day experience, team progression, fair play, FFP, proper governance, youth development, truth or justice, living wages, PUBLIC RELATIONS even it only cares about maximising income.
Thats what Celtic represents today.
PL now needs replaced with a professional that can expand the business rather than continually looking for cuts especially now that risk will never be so minimal as it is now.
HH
Above should read
If we have seriously being budgetting for EL….
Awe naw.
awe yes!
Hh
Hunbelievable refereeing.
Dunfermline player gets the ball, foul to sevco, Black kicks out at Dunf player, who gets the ball, foul to sevco, they are so feckin desperate.
I meant to add the fact that we are not consolidates the we are Old Firm assertion. That and our silence and havering whenever we are “getting the blame for everything we dae” and rightly so.
HH
owen
17.15
Well done young man, erudite, straight to the point, you should come on more often!
You managed in a few sentence’s, to sum just what being a Celtic supporter is all about!
Being a Celtic supporter is not so much about YOU!, as some people seem to think, it’s about loving, belonging, fraternity, just being the there!, being part of something greater
than the ‘whole’!
Some people just don’t ‘get it’, you do!.
You’ll do for me!
H.H.
Nine years ago I was suggesting that Celtic should buy a lower league team in the English leagues to establish a Celtic presence in England and get people accustomed to it. The side could have been largely supported by our development process with players on loan rather like Watford have done via their Italian owners. I’m sure that had we done something of that sort we might well have found people receptive to some sort of reverse acquisition by the Glasgow parent in due course whilst we would havea ready made competitive environment to aid player’s development. At least it was some sort of plan to get out of Scotland. Not seen any evidence that the Plc has one?
Awe_Naw
When you ask about budgeting for the CL, are you seriously suggesting Celtic should be buying players for £20m and paying £100k+ per week wages?
What planet are you on and what are you smoking?
burghbhoy
19:54 on 30 December, 2013
Good Mhan, a wee bit older at 51 but yeah your spot on, following the Bhoys is indeed like our blogger that goes by the name of celticrollercoaster…we most certainly have had some bad times, dire times but when the good times come along we enjoy them even more…Seville, winning the League in 1998 and the treble in 2000/2001.
The winning of the League in 1998 will remain forever in my memory, the scenes on our return to Coatbridge were just awesome.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Tet,
Hoopy birthday, enjoy your wine tonight. Hail Hail
Sevco getting some very cheap free kicks …augurs well for my bets
Get57
I dont normally converse with imbeciles and I see no reason to change that.
HH
Watched 5 minutes of them v Dunfermline there God forgive me – rank rotten both teams see better teams in under 10 games seriously
gerald766
20:03 on 30 December, 2013
SO CORRECT
Good evening friends
Awe_Naw
That’s right. Avoid answering the question by resorting to personal abuse.
Once Mourinio said:
“I play to loose only when i play with my kids.”
I think Lennon do that.
No problem with that for me.
sipsini
Will do thanks.
HH
Forgive me guys for watching sevco game,23rd minute loud and clear,f— Bobby Sands etc and Fenian b——-.I assume the deaf smsm as usual with not have heard it.
Hail Hail.
Starry Plough
How the hell did you lift the bag never mind open it ?.
Awe naw-superb .
Get57
Your question was imbecilic. So don’t blame me ..my last communique with you.
HH
St pats
Singing about an mp and calling him a fenian bassa just aint a patch on a picture of said mp
Stpatricksbhoy…..
Wonder if the uneducated Hunnery would be quite as vocal about Bobby Sands if they knew his father was a Protestant?
adi_dasler
JCB Mate..
Watched the last 10 minutes of the Dunfermline game and on the basis of what I’ve seen they shouldn’t be 22/1 “in play” betting, even with being a goal down.
Must be worth 25p….
Joost intae ask….
Is there a better striker oan Celtic’s books than Kris Boyd ?
Ye see, the way that I see it is – whose the striker thats missing
awe the chances the noo ? Answer – naebdy.
Cos theres nae chances getting made – apart from aginst Herts
u/17’s.
So ye see – Balde, Pukki etc might be no that bad efterawe ?
It’s no as if they’re getting loads of chances n missing them. imo
Ah think that the coaching sucks at CP and, isn’t it interesting that
when Jim McGuinness…more or less, pointed this oot – he was off ?
Anyway – Off oot wi Shreck n awe the rest of the trolls.
There`s been more chat on here today about Celtic playing football in the English leagues? Not for me, thanks.
What happens if the Sky bubble bursts and the money drains out of English football? Do we then agitate to join the German league? The Italian league? Or whatever is the current flavour of the month amongst cash and time rich Chinese and Japanese football fans?
I don`t want Celtic to become footballing prostitutes playing in any old league solely for the money. The annual Harlem Globetrotter friendlies in USA, Japan, Australia etc that are crazily staged in between CL qualifiers in aid of a few quid are bad enough.
Our energy would be far better spent on trying to improve Scottish football rather than tilting at Sky Sports blinged up windmills. Dermot Desmond has been forecasting Celtic`s imminent entry into the Premiership within 5 years ever since 1994. Its not happened yet and its not going to.
Instead of looking south we should work with other clubs to demand a shake up the SFA so it is set up to benefit Scottish football as a whole rather than the narrow interests of Sevco. An overhaul of the refereeing system, none of the Lanarkshire mafia and its “Ah kent his faither” promotion system that has given us the likes of Euan Norris and Son of Dallas and their honest mistakes.
We should start by hunting Campbell Ogilvie out of office – the man has his paw prints over years of cheating and financial jiggery pokery at the former Rangers and soon to be Flats of Midlothian. Celtic should have objected when he was up for re-election – our failure to do so makes me wonder.
What’s the craic with Jimmy McGuiness now ??
Awe_Naw
Genuine question. How can Celtic budget for the CL when the opposition pay zillions for players and millions in wages?
Realistically, we can put a decent team on the park and, if they play above themselves, we could make last 16.
This year was disappointing but we played as we were seeded. Get real.
pfayr-correct about cheap free kicks….
Decent article on e-Tims ( link through Celticnewsnow) on how to get fans back in and inboard
Would drop item 6 though, and substitute with don’t spend £1.8m on a project, if we have potential in lennoxtown ?
And for info, not got the slightest interest in events at Dunfermline
Hail hail
TET
Many happy returns!
Your birthday is shared with my old Mum, God rest her. She’d be 94!
I’ll tell you her story when we meet. It will be worth the wait.
And I hope you and yours have a great New Year!
God bless.
It’s actually embarrassing watching some of the decisions going against Dunfermline.