News that Hull City had a £6m bid for Robert Snodgrass accepted took the wind out of my sails this morning. Snodgrass was one of the outstanding performers for clubs in the bottom half of the English Premier League last season, so it’s easy to understand his ticket price, despite only having a year left on his Norwich City contract.
He is a Celtic fan and has not hidden his desire to play for the club, but Hull City (good grief) are now bidding £6m for players from relegated clubs, after spending £8m on a Spurs squad filler.
This all begs the question, can we afford to compete with Hull City? Probably, yes, but we can no more afford to splurge £14m on a couple of players than Hull, who a year ago were reporting debts close to £80m.
We’re operating in an environment where indirect competitors for players are spending unsustainable amounts of money, pretty much like Rangers did for 20 years under Sir David Murray. For a few years after Fergus left, we played the same game as Rangers, running up millions of pounds of losses year after year, before pulling away from the edge, while they kept the pedal to the metal and careered into liquidation.
The decision not to match the Bank of Scotland money flowing into Rangers cost us trophies, and caused a great deal of dispute in the Celtic family, but story ended sweetly. So, so, sweetly.
The crash may never hit England, but the job for Celtic is to find a way of remaining competitive in the Champions League while matching income to expenditure.
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his book, All the Best.
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twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine
16:28 on
27 June, 2014
thats the one Gordon, 3-1 down and Glavin with the winner for 4-3, KD at his best that day. Ive bored my weans with that game too many times
_________________________________________________________________________
Was there that day, unbelievable game, we were down 0-2,
1-3,If I remember correctly 2-3 at h/t, but I thought KD got
the winner late on, a long time ago, could be wrong.
corkcelt
16:33 on
27 June, 2014
Hamiltontim, Why do you bother with that clown.
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Probably because he has an intellect.
And is comfortable to use it.
And then there`s you.
I know Hamiltontim, I agree with Jasebhoy, if Sammi wanted to stay we should have made it happen. He was a very special ghuy. Hopefully he is not followed out the door by Virgil & FF.
Good afternoon all
No change on here today then. Back to lurking. :-)
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
A Ceiler Gonof Rust
16:33 on
27 June, 2014
JaseBhoy, absolutely nothing wrong with your comment re sammi, nothing at all.
Macjay would argue with his shadow over the colour of shite.
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Well no.
Actually I`ll argue with anyone who calls Celtic “stupid.”
Because that`s what I would expect from huns.
15:53 on 27 June, 2014
macjay1-have Celtic ever done something you have ever disagreed with ? Which could be classed as stupid,ill-conceived etc.Serious question
Nye Bevans
Im almost certain it was Glavin, last minute. My boys will kill me if it turns out it was KD
WeefratheTim
16:41 on 27 June, 2014
Good afternoon all
No change on here today then. Back to lurking. :-)
________________________________________
Whit’s the real reason – none of yer clique on yet? :¬(
twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine…
It was a fantastic comeback.
Of course in those “old days” there was no formal segregation of supporters and I was in the enclosure in front of the main stand surrounded by Hearts supporters.
It didn’t stop me celebrating Ronnie Glavin’s late winner.
One of the features of this enjoyable World Cup is to see supporters of competing nations sitting side by side.
My new season card came through today. Now THAT is worth posting about!
hebcelt
The blog is fine aside from the so called contributions of a couple of arseholes who for the most part I scroll past. Perhaps more should follow my lead.
Hamiltontim the blog won’t die if collectively we ignore these idiots IMHO.
Have a nice day all of you less the idiots:o)
Back to lurking.
EDB- You are correct.
EDB I concur Hail Hail Hebcelt
Macjay, I know you would.
HT just received mine too and it came with a letter that specifically states that pie throwers will be ejected. You have been warned:-)
Bada Bing
Thank you. It just occurred to me is Lurking fairly close to Barking?
Bada, The person or the Company that has never done anything stupid has never done anything at all. Everybody and every Company make mistakes, there is no discussion about that. This is a Celtic blog and there is absolutely nothing wrong with any fan saying he feels the Club did something stupid. The uber Celt is latching on to this to try and get a bit of notice but the sad part is that he has succeeded.
If guys would debate points,instead of avoiding issues, things wouldn’t drag on and pi$$ people off
EDB
Thanks for the advice :-)
ACGR
Mine says pie throwing is mandatory :-)
Adieu Bhoys
EDB – Barking mad mate ;)
Weefra
Theres genuinely been a strong compost waft from Buchanan St to Sauchiehall St today, youve not transferred your operations have you ?
How did you get on with stopping smoking ? I’m trying for third time but think I need some Divine Intervention
corkcelt- challenging the Club on certain issues,can make us stronger.HH
SFTB
I agree with you 100%. Celtic have performed exceptionally well since the late 1990s given the strictures you so succinctly outlined, even more so given the cheating going on across the city and at Hampden.
I think we can take heart from the WC performances of the smaller nations like Costa Rica and Chile who have shown that a well coached side without world renowned superstars can play attacking, exciting football and beat the so called “better” nations.
We’ll never be able to match the aristos in Europe in wages or transfer fees but we can assemble a squad of good and improving players to put on a show. With a fair wind, I can see us reaching the last 16 in the CL every 2 or 3 years and maybe a run in the EL one year in 4. Not bad for a team from a diddy league.
twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine & Nye Bevan’s Rebel Soldier…
Kenny Dalglish scored the equaliser in the 4-3 game.
hi-diddle-dee-dee(tis an actors life for me)
16:45 on 27 June, 2014
WeefratheTim
16:41 on 27 June, 2014
Good afternoon all
No change on here today then. Back to lurking. :-)
________________________________________
Whit’s the real reason – none of yer clique on yet? :¬(
===========================
Tut tut, I have no idea what you’re on about. :-)
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Gordon
16:45 on
27 June, 2014
There was indeed a bit of bother that day,I was a young
daftie back then,it all added to the excitement…..was the
norm back in the 70’s.
APOLOGIES IF ALREADY POSTED:
Read on….
A Co Armagh boy, who received a last-minute invitation to fly out to see his footballing hero play with Greece against Costa Rica in Sunday’s World Cup clash, won’t make it to Brazil after all as his family had already arranged a family holiday.
Eleven-year-old Jay Beatty from Lurgan has been an avid fan of Greek forward Georgios Samaras since the player’s days at Celtic. Last month, after the Glasgow side’s 3-1 victory over Dundee United to win the Scottish Premiership, the Greek player carried Jay in his arms around the pitch to the resounding cheers of Celtic Park.
Jay, who has Down syndrome, then won Greek hearts when his father posted a video on Facebook showing him dressed in blue and celebrating Greece’s victory over Ivory Coast, in which Samaras scored an injury-time penalty to send his country into the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time. The Armagh boy’s fame spread like a summer wildfire yesterday thanks to a Greek Facebook page (facebook.com/OJAYPAEIMUNDIAL) calling for the country’s football federation to invite Jay to Sunday’s game. Within 24 hours, the page had attracted over 80,000 likes, generated immense media interest in the story and pushed the federation into extending an invitation.
“Jay, I want to thank for you for the strength you give me. Your smile and support give strength to everyone in the national team. I hope to see you soon. I’m very, very proud that you are my friend,” Samaras said, speaking at a team press conference in Brazil yesterday.
The player announced that the Greek federation had agreed to pay for Jay and his family to travel to Brazil to watch Sunday’s game.
But when the Beatty family got the call to say they had been invited to Brazil, they were already in the airport, about to depart on a family holiday.
“Naturally we were unable to take up the offer and are so gutted, but truly grateful that people would do this for Jay. We cannot believe that this has happened and are so humbled and would like to wish Greece all the best in the World Cup,” his father Martin wrote on Facebook.
And addressing his hero by his nickname, Jay said in a video message: “Sami, I hope youse win the World Cup. And Sami, I’m sorry, I won’t be there but I still love you very much and I hope you win. Come on, Sami!”
Dimitris Athanasopoulos, one of those who set the Facebook campaign rolling in Greece, said he was amazed and humbled at the response he got.
“I’d known about Jay since Samaras carried him around Celtic Park in May after the premiership final,” he told The Irish Times. “But when I saw Jay cheering on Greece, I said to a friend that we should make his dream come true. Here was a foreign kid supporting Greece with such passion and we built on that fame.”
Mr Athanasopoulos said that he was overwhelmed with offers of financial support to get Jay on the plane to the World Cup from local soccer teams in Greece, Cyprus and Australia, which has a large Greek diaspora.
“We nearly managed to sent a kid from Ireland who we never met to Brazil. It just goes to show that when you want to achieve something, you can,” he said.
However, after reading this, I agreed that respect and dignity go to the parents who politely refused to make their child a spectacle for the televised circus of the FIFA Football Cup.
Just my opinion.
I’m off “outwith”….to Baku Azerbaijan, in fact.
twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine
16:52 on 27 June, 2014
Weefra
Theres genuinely been a strong compost waft from Buchanan St to Sauchiehall St today, youve not transferred your operations have you ?
How did you get on with stopping smoking ? I’m trying for third time but think I need some Divine Intervention
=========================
Hi, if you find it pass it on to me. Still trying, but still smoking. :-(
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
ger57
Good post mate.
The “superstars” of Engerlund encourage your thinking.
Gordon/ Nye Bevans rebel soldier
We wont get those days back, some may say thats a good thing, I tend to disagree
“The crash may never hit England, but the job for Celtic is to find a way of remaining competitive in the Champions League while matching income to expenditure.”
Sorry Paul have to disagree slightly. The job for Celtic as a board and top of any one, two, three or five year plan, is to take our club into a more competitive environment where the impact of working next door to a huge financial conglomerate ( EPL ) is neutralised to the extent that we compete both on and off the field with our peers in the football world.
Doing that isn’t easy but I don’t get paid zillions to come up with the solution, the board do.
That must be our number one priority!!
Macjay – your post on last thread at 13.43:-
“Bada and Jase call Celtic “stupid.”
Any more for the “stupid Celtic” bandwagon?
Incidentally,please outline your experience in running multi million pound businesses.
Or are you just fag packet capitalists with delusions of grandeur?”
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Part of the fun of football is that everyone has an opinion. I can have an opinion on how the Celtic team plays – my opinion is based on 30 years of going to games, home and away, and isn`t worthless simply because I personally have never been a professional footballer and won the SPFL or the Scottish Cup. Its just my opinion, and not any better or worse than anyone else`s.
If a fellow Celtic fan criticised a Celtic player`s performance, application or form, would you automatically shoot them down because they had never been a professional footballer?
If a fellow Celtic fan criticised a decision taken by the Celtic manager would you shoot them down on the grounds that they had never been a football manager?
Its a nonsense to shoot down criticisms of decisions made by those who run Celtic simply because the criticisms come from those who haven`t run a “multi-million pound business.” David Murray runs many multi-million pound businesses – I`d give far more credence to the opinions of the likes of Bada Bing and JaseBhoy than that of Moonbeams.
Forgive me if am wrong but it seems to me you would rather that Celtic fans only questioned anything about the club if they have been a professional player or director themselves. This kind of unquestioning deference – “the board always know best attitude” – is not healthy. Rangers fans generally were of the “board knows best” mindset. That worked out well for them.
Bada,
“challenging the Club on certain issues,can make us stronger”
Absobloodylutely mate. Agree 100%
On the other hand, Slagging the club anonymously on an internet blog over every single petty issue won’t.
Can anyone please tell me what time the evening guests have to arrive at Aberdour next week?
TT
twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine
16.45
No need to hide from your boys.
Gerard McDade – Celtic The Supersonic 70s! p176
” If one match summed up what JS’s modified Hoops were about that autumn, it would be a meeting at Tynecastle with Hearts. The Jambos led twice with scores of 2-0 and 3-1 and would surely have fancied the points had Lemon not grabbed one back to make it 3-2 at half-time.
A resurgent Celtic, differing from the attitude that had prevailed the year before, came out for the 2nd half with the words of Big Jock’s 10 minute salvo ringing in their ears and drew level on the hour.
KK snatched that one from a DMcG pass and the Celts spent the last 30 mins assaulting the Hearts goalmouth whilst the Jambos hid behind their the sofa awaiting the final whistle.
With 3 mins left on the clock, RG secured the winner for the Hoops.
Ah, RG. He was back in the fold and despite a hairdo that seemed to require more WD40 than shampoo the G-Man was firing on all cylinders.”
You’ve a good memory.
Think the author was a Celt. Hearts goalscorers don’t get a mention.
Those who regularly come on here and say , without offering any real evidence, that we are downsizing would be well advised to read these words from SFTB :
“It does not stand up to any scrutiny, to assert that we are downsizing to a poor level, unbecoming of Celtic.”
JJ
Jungle Jim
17:09 on 27 June, 2014
___________________
Seems that, every aspect of Celtic Football Club is subject to downsizing
apart from two specific areas…..Peter Lawwells bonus and, fan admission prices.
Sir Paul
Good Article.
Yes, We shall Survive..n.. Prosper..
If
We Continue oan Oor Chosen Path.
The Wan.. The ONLY … Path!
which is:
“Find ’em.. Cheap.. Improve ‘Em Weel…n…. Pack ‘Em off Fur .. Profit..”
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch:
” Roll oor Ain”… fur..
“Yoof,is the Light n the Way,” ( Fargo.. 2004.)
Yes.. Celtic ur daeing jist Fine.
Oor Finances ur in Good Shape..
Oor Future is Secure.. n .. we are be well Guided , avoiding the Pitfalls,,that ithers
are Busy Diggin’ fur Themsels…
Three Cheers fur the Celtic Board…!!!
Nice Chattin.. Kiddo.
As Evah.
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
JJ,
I think those with a few cells left understand that.
Sure the spending is less than the boom of the start to middle of the millennium but that wasn’t/isn’t sustainable.
Hopefully someday it will be.
Right. Maffit. Let the celebrations commence.
Ktf pop pickers :)