You and I have been discussing football finances here since 2004. In our early years Celtic lost several million pounds each year, CQN’s call was ‘we must breakeven over any business cycle’, an incredibly controversial view in those times of indulgent bling.
By 2004 Celtic hadn’t added a player who held down a sustained first team place for three years (since John Hartson in 2001). We also lost a talisman that summer. The pressure was on to spend, from the stands and the dug-out, but Brian Quinn, our chairman, had concerns about running at a permanent loss. In the face of considerable criticism from the bling-brigade he stood firm.
Celtic won three of the next four league titles while reaching new territory in the Champions League as others continued to spent beyond their means and exploit unconventional taxation policies, which ultimately saw them liquidated, but while the end game was predictable, most didn’t predict it. This resulted in strife at our club.
Finance was a focus of CQN in the early years when we produced granular analysis of accounts and budgetary forecasting. As we became less of a basket-case the time spent debating money reduced.
We can all talk about strikers and defending, policing and political influences, good corporate governance and the SFA, but if you scratch below the surface of those with many years of CQN behind them, I suspect you’ll find people who can’t resist a football club’s cost and revenue breakdown spreadsheet….
The document which appeared on the internet yesterday on a former football club [let’s call them ExCo] was a joy. To me, anyway. It provided many small details which add up to one or two enormous conclusions.
ExCo forecast current year spend for 2011-12 on cleaning costs to be £380k, electricity at £455k, insurance at £374k, postage and carriage at £146k, IT at £261k, professional fees at £613k and telephone costs at £149k. Stewarding was £593k, policing, £343k, match day ambulance, £89k. They spent £160k on finance salaries and £176 on press office salaries while ticket operation salaries cost £268k. The list is exhaustive, 10 pages of costs detailed.
Operating costs, before items like our old friend, amortisation, and tax (don’t laugh), were predicted to come in just shy of £37m, but the key message in all of this detail, is that if you want to operate a football club which can accommodate circa 40,000 spectators you need an infrastructure which costs around £20m.
The police, building maintenance, insurances, grass seed and everything else has to be budgeted for before you can look at player wages, not to mention transfer fees. £268k might sound like a lot to pay for ticket office staff but if you need to issue tens of thousands of tickets you need fulfilment staff. All those assets: enormous properties, thousands of fans, blanket media attention, can feel like liabilities to the guy with the responsibility to pay for them.
On reading this the overwhelming memory I had was of former Rangers director, Paul Murray, who a year ago told the world that Newco Rangers would not be viable, and he was hoping a Newco would have SPL football back then. New clubs cannot qualify in European competition until after they have completed three years trading (a minimum of four years without Europe).
With no European revenue for four years, Newco would be unable to pay all those ‘fixed’ costs and put a competitive team on the field. A big club can’t survive trapped in a small league with no European revenue.
This is reality. Scotland has one healthy large club and has a dozen or more potentially healthy small ones, but nothing will ever be the same again.
Thanks to everyone who has bought Willie Wallace autobiography. Orders in from Belfast, Blackpool, Bonnybridge, Burntisland and Blackrock. If you order now you will receive a copy signed by the man himself….
Email me if you have an article for CQN Magazine inside of you waiting to get out; celticquicknews@gmail.com.
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Athletico player catches Ramos in hand in challenge, Ramos rolls around holding face. Pathetic!
Miki/larrybhoy
you out there ?
Once the info is out there it can be used now or picked up at a later date and used.
The important thing is to get it out there
TICK TOCK
This is a great game…….mon Atletico
corkcelt
I agree it will need a forensic mind to put this jigsaw together
Nevertheless in the timternet there are forensic minds who have spent many years on the trail of Rangers
For them this will be new manna from heaven
And they have all the time in the world to analyse
If the truth comes tomorrow or the next day it will be worth the wait
Greenlion2
Alan Thompson attended Jersey CSC dinner last year ,was still involved with Celtic at the time .
HH
Praecepta,
I thought the laws had changed on what’s admisable, was there no a case in the last couple of years were evidence was gained in the same way and admitted, I’m sure it was discussed on here.
I have just received an email from Celtic to tell me that they have had such a big response to season book sales I no longer have to move seat so they are sending out packs to all those affected so you can get in touch with them and keep your seat or move back if already purchased.
So much for Keevins etc saying we are shutting down parts of the stadium.
HH
Corkcelt
From complaining about lack of details to bemoaning information overload, all in the space of a few hours;-) Mind the days we had to wait 24hours for the next newspaper to tell us nothing!!
HH
splitters
googybhoy ♥ Celtic
It certainly strenghtens his ticketus appeal case that people knew what was going on earlier that they are admitting
ulysses, I totally agree, someone somewhere will need to cherrypick the key areas where wrongdoing has occurred. These need to be chronicled with back up documents referenced. Surely be to God if this stuff is genuine it cannot be ignored or swept under the carpet. There are so many institutions directly affected. Football Authoroties, HMRC, Institute of Chartered Accountants, Stock Exchange, Plod etc etc. This stuff is appearing nightly on the world wide web and the MSM is totally ignoring it. Incredible.
Look how excited thon Paul67 fhella got about released spread sheets
:))
Can I crack a fresh bottle of raspberry , the wean is slabbering like poachers dug waiting for it to open.
Lottie I love you
channelislandcelt
21:11 on 17 May, 2013
Cheers was it during the season? Sorry for asking another question.
Falcao is rumoured to go to Monaco for a year before going to Real.
Would you have him at Celtic for a year????
Alright corkcelt how things. I see reading back you were missing Charlotte. Looks like he/she is starting to come up with some more wee gems.
HH
Robinbhoy………cheers for that. I will try this.
Peter Lorre hits the post
Looks like I managed to change it, god knows how.Thanks guys for your suggestions…see me and technology —total strangers to each other.
Ok David are y
DJBEE
20:05 on 17 May, 2013
I have not been paranoid for years, well according to the MSM myself and Celtic fans around the world. Why would anyone want to detail nearly every moment in their life to everyone else? Personally I dont’t care what you had for breakfast, lunch and dinner or whether your wean hurt their knee today.
http://www.infowars.com/facebook-google-are-cia-fronts
read the links
===================================
Yup.
Always said that – if you desire to put up details of your life for the world to read there’s ALWAYS going to be some organisation reayd to use such for their own gain/nefarious purposes.
Why people exert surprise when identity theft takes place or they’re tracked down for past obscure misdemeanours and the like is stupefying.
Five minutes read of someone’s facebook gives anyone an idea of their personality type/lifestyle/etc, etc.
Information is God.
And the intimate nature of facebook postings, however apparently banal, is gold dust for those who would aspire to control and dominate.
ParanoiawithreasonCFC.
Greenlion2
No ,end of May I seem to recall . He brought over the replica of the Big Cup .
HH
David
Are you a Hun?
googybhoy ♥ Celtic
So who has an interest in these leaks?
_______
Can’t quite figure out whether someone is;
– on a revenge mission (cause they have no legal redress)?
– trying to force a financial settlement (get a pay-off – clear their feet)?
– trying to burst them again (to pick up the next lot of scraps)?
– or throwing as much sh!t into the mix to avoid a jail sentence (on the basis that a sh!t load of them can’t all be sent down)?
Hopefully its the last one and a few of them get banged up – just for the fun of the ‘Govan Witch’ trials! :-)
Corkcelt:
A bet if you got a shot on a flying carpet you would complain about the colours.
Hiya 3mick3, yes indeed the finger is out of the dyke now and the info is pouring through. Everything great with me, hope all is well with you and Mrs. 3mick3, I won’t embarrass her anymore by telling all on CQN what a fine looking lady she is.
corkcelt
if you click on any of the pages in link gives you info needed.
http://www.scribd.com/CharlotteFakes/documents?sort_by=newest&sort_dir=ASC
@CharlotteFakes: Grier in Jan 2011 aware of short term funding. A 3 year deal (see prev) implies much more significant amount. http://t.co/GM7YwrwA8F
corkcelt
18:35 on 17 May, 2013
I stopped reading after 2 lines but I am sitting here in Clonmel in total amazement that anyone would sit down anywhere and write the post that Kojo has just written.
—–
Astounded anyone would READ ANY of that drivel.
corkcelt
21:14 on
17 May, 2013
ulysses, I totally agree, someone somewhere will need to cherrypick the key areas where wrongdoing has occurred.
Now there is a challenge the MinceSodaStreaMedia are going to be fighting each other for.
The paperboys have a tough round the next few weeks!
Glasgowghirl
Re the Moty, those Epl guys did excel on the CL though didn’t they ?
praecepta
I reckon Craigy answers most of those questions.
Sandman
21:20 on
17 May, 2013
Forget Facebook etc, there’s companies out there that are legally licensing Govt databases, credit systems etc and aggregating it all. I did some work for one such company and from a name and postcode, they could get your address history, your next of kin, close relatives, who you’d lived with, their relatives it was incredible the depth of information that was available to private companies who were prepared to pony up the cash to the Govt.
Neil canamalar
It seems strange (as ulysses/ corkcelt have posted) that so much has been dumped into the public domain and so quickly – no time to digest the info.
Almost like a fire-sale warning to the perpetrators (shredders to turbo) and while your at it – it might be worth checking out which countries don’t extradite to the UK.
corkcelt
as you probably know, but just in case not, in windows 8 if you drag the S logo to taskbar at bottom & refresh any knew docs will download.
HH
I read Kojo constantly for his first three posts years ago and he wasted about two minutes of my life. He should have a health warning, do not read this hun cretin.
reilly1926, not complaining about anything just frustrated at the thought that the bar stewards might get away with it.
unionbearBhind, I know mate I’ve been clicking away but as I said above why aren’t the MSM all over this. Why aren’t the regulatory authorities issuing statements, why aren’t guys being led away in handcuffs.