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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ACGR,
I reckon you’d actually wear the onesie on a pub crawl, and still be the last mhan standing :))
TORONTONY
Jee-zoh,you nearly had me feeling sorry for you there,haha!
I know what you mean about homesick-every time I visit makes it more of a wrench to leave.
Heyho ……
This weekend is gonna be a bummer-stuck in Swindon due to forgetting to plan a trip anywhere.
Still,I can always jump on a train somewhere and annoy some strangers…….
Morning Troops Neilly on from Sakhalin Island , first time so be Gentle , Hail Hail
Acgr
I will be chasing the guy up by wednesday … I can be a pest when I need to be :)
Will let you know whats happening as the week goes on.
If your on fb … and have bt or doc or tttt or minx etc on .. you will get me on their friends list or pm them and they will get you my details
Loving the Charlotto Aka Craigie Bhoy exposes
Neilly
Is that the baku beyond :)
BTW … where do you sit at ibrokes ?
The mhan that told Paddy Maloney to feck off with his Chieftains’ nonsense.
Playing here with one lung and a voicebox, in his 80s, yet still outplaying them all…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn70NAPW4hg
Just got a warning flash up on the ole Windows 7.
Computer Error 707: BMCUW&train/crashreport707/doesnotcompute/error707/reportsubmit?
Paul67 trust me mate. When Celtic lost the league in Gordon’s last year only one person held the balance sheet up as a trophy that was Peter lawell. Now that we can see the money available in CL, we sure can see now the money we lost at that time due to the wilo window. Corporate failure is word come to mind
Plus the ex Huns would have been liquidated earlier. All for the saving of 1m pound
Never has so much earnings been thrown away by our club due to mismanagement
No Paul. Fans do not want to see balance sheets. If u think you do then avoid those funny cigs. :)))
All this Charlotte stuff which is being released is possibly too late for a big exposé by a serious journalist in a Sunday broadsheet,but it lays down the gauntlet to our timid tabloids in Scotland
Print what you know or wait till NEXT week and lose control of the agenda!
There will be a fair few loose sphincters around and a bit of horse-trading in the next coupla days,I suspect….
The charlotte tweets just posted .. saying he aint craig whyte .. but attached some brilliant pics of our hero doing his best macca impersonation ;)
TBJ, I’m not a facebooker but I’ll ask BobM to pass my email addy to you.
BobbyM, help a howler time buddy. I know you wont’ let me down.
Hoooowooooooooooooooool:-0))
Bmcuw
Its a bit like the English jurno who broke the swalex story… stick or twist
NEILLYBAKU
Welcome to the site-and to our wee impromptu moonhowling session.
There must be a wee community of you over there by now?
If nowt else, the last year has proven what a great groover Craigie Whyte is.
http://i.imgur.com/dGdyPNU.gif
Jinky , where do i sit Ibrokes ? Wrong Neilly mate , There was a Hun Neilly in Baku – Not this Guy !
I ran the Cowndenbeath and District for a few years with Wee Sonny
Neilly
If your a lurker you will know its tradition to be cast as a hun when welcomed to the site.
Favourite celtic moment ?
THE BOY JINKY
I can’t access my contacts list on my mail addresses as my laptop is playing up.
If you mail me at
bmcuwp@gmail.com
I will forward your addy to ACGR and yours to him
Sorry to be a nuisance-every time I leave the lappy on its own it goes in a huff!
Bmcuw
You got mail
SYDNEYTIM
Long time,bud-regards to your good self and to MC also
I agree with your point,as you know,but it was more of an error of judgement than sheer negligence.
We were SEVEN points clear at New Year,I expect the plan was to spend at our leisure in the summer with CL money to play with.
No point in rushing things,after all…..
Who would have guessed that our THREE international strikers couldnae hit their own arses wi a banjo?
Even I canny blame PL for that,especially when you consider the size of some of the bum cheeks involved!
FMM, the last man standing and the Celtic onesie are definitely mutually exclusive dependent on where and who with:-)
I was in Ireland last year for the rugby and one of the guys was a hun. He brought a hun away top and bet me I wouldn’t wear it in Cork. I took his bet (still in the hotel at this point). I put it on and said lets go hun boy, I felt like a dirtbag at this point in the proceedings.
So off we go down through the foyer to the entrance and he’s looking nervous, btw, I was shiting by this time. Right take it off he says. Geez ma £20 then say’s I.
He hands me a twnety, I take off his rancid away top, chuck it on the ground at the hotel front and light up ma smoke.
another away win Celtic 1 – Huns nil. I was shiting it though if he’s not caved in. I’d not have lasted three minutes in his deidco attire in that fine city and I’m pleased to say I’m happy about that.
If we’d got to Craine Lane, I’d have been a deid boady.
Never trust a hun.
Fav moment for me was the whole 4-2 game !! that whole season was epic the way thems kept trying to rearrange the games etc… Nae Telly , Monday Holiday , epic… Bottle of Asti spumante right over the Napper , Oh Happy Days !!
There was a wee club here but wotks tailing off , theres a few of the Zombies here typically my first night they were giving it large on the tables in the lair , i walks in they assume i am one of thems !! strange ? I am good Looking !! Anyhoo , they proceed to start the Bouncy Pish and i shove one of the fuckers oot the way explaining to him the error of his assumptions , i then get a smack for my troubles ! Nowt changes with these animals …
ACGR
I got the carnoustie golfer bit… but it is the second meaning that I am struggling with… it better be bloody good if its costing me six pints for Tony!
On that note, tony, I’ll catch up with you at the club for the cup final. Just in from dinner with the most stunning French lady tonight…. think I’m twitterpated, as they say.
I’m off to bed.
HH
ACGR @ 04:24
Heard you tell that one already amigo.
You don’t do onesies, you do twosies. :))
Mike in Toronto, get up with your good bud Tony have some pints and some unusual drams and don’t even think about me.
I’m an irrelevance to you but make sure you get Tony six cold ones:-)
He da sclaffbaw man!!!
with these latest leaks from Agent Charlotte , we are really are at the difinitive moment for the MSM , if this is ignored where is this really going – apart from th eblinding obvious , but surely , even they cannot ignore these latest revelations ? Can they ???
NeillyBaku,
Hope that you had a long hot shower, if it is The Clansman you were in!
The Bhoys of Baku CSC is still going strong. The current Clubhouse is in a back-room in the Maharajah Restaurant, above Shakespeare’s Pub.
It’s a bit too smoky for me, so I’ve not been there much lately, but it is still bouncing the Celtic Way!
How you doing BakuBhoy, Yes it had moved from Adams when i was in Baku , I am now in Sakhalin , that me here for a wee while , Happy days in Adams !! Wee Bob , Doc , Big John, Innes … some team in those days !!
is that hole still going ? that is one Rancid lair of a place … the amount of non football people who just didnt get the bile and hatred in that place was reflective of the atmosphere and bigotry in the place
Mike, lets just sleep on it and say, I’ve got a chum from Kilwinning. There’s always a different angle when you include the west coast ludgers.
Talk later dude:-)
We Are Celtic, and we are happy hoopsters.
Nice contextual piece Mr B.
There is a fork in the road…
Hopefully one that satisfies the aware…
But Surely, one thing is for sure…
Campbell Ogilivie is DisIntegrating
FFM, I’ve been up for threesies before so onesies and twosies is auld hat:-((
dramswillkeepustogether.com
Apologies…
Campbell Ogilvie?
Knighthood odds?
Take 2
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=youtube+eve+of+destruction&tnr=21&vid=8dc247df69edc2029a6c31534d3bf242&l=218&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DU.4988742916049763%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DIwYNWYaS3bI&sigr=11aj89qkg&tt=s&tit=Barry+McGuire+Eve+Of+Destruction+Live+Hullabaloo+1965&back=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fmobile%2Fs%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dyoutube%2Beve%2Bof%2Bdestruction%26first%3D1%26_tsrc%3Dapple&sigb=12qqmjr6b
Good Knight?
Sclaffbaw time approaches so I better be off. Not much chance of a birdie today on the big chap’s holy turf.
It’s long, its tough, its windy,;-)its challenging and I’m tanked up on the watter o life. Let me at it.
Hail Hail Cetic men n wummin.
ACGR
When MARTIN O’NEIL arrived in town I bet the Hun mates we would win the league.
One of them bet me to swop jerseys so I would wear a Hun top if they won and vice versa.
He backed down rapid when I accepted!
Huns-they don’t like it up ’em….
Hello Neilly,
Innes left a few years ago, but the rest of the lads you mentioned are still here. Wee Bobby (El Presidente), and John C, were both away for a while, but came back around a year ago.
After Adams, we were in the Shark Bar on Khagani Street for a while, before moving to Shakespeare’s. Numbers are back up, and it is crowded at times. I’ll be there for the Cup Final, for sure.
Bunch of festering knuckle-draggers in that bar – I’d never set foot in the place.
BakuBhoy ,
heres my e-mail neilmcdade74@yahoo.com