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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Sandman
People in the future later will regret being on Facebook
Facebookers are sources for the the ad men and commercial interests to exploit
Your life in their hands for manipulation and tagetted ads for ever more your just another number for the number crunchers. They dont care about your ups and downs just your dollar value…ask the bankers.
Remember that time you showed the world a picture of your ass the picture you cant delete because its on everyone elses computer
Think before you open your heart to this world because not everyone has your best interests in mind
Well thats what I tell my kids
Googybhoy…….Thanks for the question I feel like I belong now. For the avoidance of any doubt I never have been, or will never be a hun.
This all seems to be coming to a head now…….where’ ma sedatives
Corkcelt :-) you should see her just now wae her onsey on and nae make up.
I see you are a keen golfer. I was supposed to be at a day out today but got dates mixed up so missed it but got a txt telling me 1 of the guys got a hole in 1. Would liked to have seen that.
david
21:33 on 17 May, 2013
OK, are you a sevconian then …LOL
djbee -what took you so long?
corkcelt
21:31 on 17 May, 2013
It might all be fake that is why MSM will not comment. It is also dropping lots of Spivco in serious legal waters.
If true.
david
21:33 on 17 May, 2013
Googybhoy…….Thanks for the question I feel like I belong now. For the avoidance of any doubt I never have been, or will never be a hun.
Ok initiation over Welcome
greenlion2,
I think the days of footballers( millionaires) socialising with fans have gone.
There is a major disconnect between the players of today and, say, the
Lions era.
Top players are more showbiz than fans with boots.
I can understand that,
There is a more professional approach to football now, in terms of fitness and lifestyle choices.
Clubs are more protective and are sensitive to players getting caught up in social occasions which have the potential to be too socialable.
Alan Thompson, as mentioned attended a function in Jersey.
Whether coincidence, or not, he was at CP long after that.
corkcelt
just proves how utterly inept Scottish journos are never mind corrupt!!!!!
HH
Larrybhoy, the CL is one thing, but we didn’t win the Ramsden’s Cup though, did we?!
@CharlotteFakes: Letter and SPA attached re Sevco 5088 purchase. More to follow surrounding this offer. http://t.co/TLoNtBVgWl
Latest from Charlotte
David, welcome!
googybhoy ♥ Celtic
don’t think they’re fake, all ties in with the levinson angle?
HH
73 pages from Charlotte
CRC around?
I got soul but i’m not a soldier
googybhoy ♥ Celtic 21:26 on 17 May, 2013
@CharlotteFakes: Grier in Jan 2011 aware of short term funding. A 3 year deal (see prev) implies much more significant amount.
Has Grier sued the BBC yet?
Looks like someone is emptying the contents of a locked filing-cabinet!
Thanks googybhoy look forward to contributing to some discussions
About players mixing with fans, one of my greatest nights as a fan ever was Florida 2001. The dinner after the golf day was amazing. Had AT and MortenWieghorst at our table. The party after at TGI’s was even better. Messrs Thompson & Lennon giving it belters. Nearly the best Celtic day in my life.
Thank you too glasgowbhoy for your kind welcome.
googybhoy ♥ Celtic
also to much detail only someone in the know would have this amount of detail, far to much meat on bones?
HH
……….. or a Swiss Bank safety deposit box!
Where’s BSR (ultimatum)?
Celtic Bhoy
No worries about the names being similar ….only thing is from your side as l have been posting here since about day two of the site going up in 2004 so no one reads anything l write anymore (with justifiable cause l would say) .So l wouldn’t want any one to ignore your posts thinking they were mine. :-)
thomthethim
I understand that most of the players do not like doing this but I believe that only started in the late 90’s in truth I am told that the KoK’s was one of the biggest culprits for it.
I not only think that players forget about the fans but I believe that the board do as well unless as a few years ago when we were struggling to sell season tickets and we had PL etc doing roadshows.. Try getting him now
I have been told that players, Management team board members cannot attend functions as it it during the season yet some of the same folk are tonight at the CSA function at Celtic Park.
One would have to think that Craigy Bhoy must be behind this. We know he is a careful hoarder of info.
Got to page 73 and still do not know who dunnit.
Rubbish book.
Starting to see why Cw thought he had deal in bag
D&P must surely be taken to task for selling to Sevco scotland instead of 5088
Been busy with weans n Rioja, Sandman, cheers,
Phyllis, I know my tadger allert must of been down that day, love this site but hate seeing people talking about what this @rsh0l3 says
unionbearbhind
21:45 on 17 May, 2013
googybhoy ♥ Celtic
also to much detail only someone in the know would have this amount of detail, far to much meat on bones?
HH
… ………
Got to agree after those 73 pages.
DAVID
Welcome aboard
charlottes just drop another doc! just like buses 3 at a time?
thomthetim
Thommo attended our function with the obvious blessing of the club ,hence him bringing the european cup replica. .
I was only being polite in answering a question from Greenlion2.
To suggest that Thommos appearance in Jersey had any bearing on him leaving CP is a little unfair.
HH
`glasgowbhoy
Right enough, we never even qualified for the Ramsden….. what was I thinking ?
here’s the link http://www.scribd.com/doc/142103828/Letter-and-SPA
HH
cant be fake bank details in, this is dynamite, lets see them dodge these bullets?
Celtic boy….cheers but I changed it anyway don’t want anyone to think you have suddenly lost the plot.