Under normal circumstances, you would expect Celtic to rest players in a home League Cup tie against Falkirk ahead of a European game, but building fitness and synergy remains a top priority this early in the season.
If we consider the positivity which enveloped Benjamin Nygren following his goal at Aberdeen on Sunday, going full blast on Falkirk might give some of the forwards a confidence boost before things turn serious next week.
Hibs and Dundee United are a long way off league stage European football, but they can both fancy their chances in the third qualification round tonight. Even Hibs cannot surely ‘Hibs it’ after winning 0-2 in Belgrade last week. United were excellent in their draw with Rapid but there is still a lot to do in that tie.
This season we have at least three from five clubs in ‘league stage’ competition. If United and Hibs don’t make it, points gathered by those three are divided by five. Getting a fourth or fifth side can make all the difference to our coefficient points.
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Friday eve all!
BRRB will be taking a wee pint in observation of it.
One more sleep as a good man used to say on here.
Bada, from the last thread re DD:
” Is he trying to fatten up the bank balance to sell, can the other major players buy him out?”
The cash in the bank is largely irrelevant to the value of a business. A business is valued by its ability to generate cash in the future – how much it will earn over period time. What’s already in the bank is worth precisely its face value. After all, how much would you pay for a tenner? Anything in excess of the working capital requirement is generally distributed to extant shareholders at the point of sale.
In some respects, having such a disproportionately large sum of cash in the bank reduces the value of the business because it might be inferred by prospective purchasers that the business can’t use it to grow, or at least, that the current management don’t know how to use it to grow the business. Which tbh is pretty much where I’m at with the current management.
its magic
Falkirk under Mr McGlynn are unlikely to be mugs – and may surprise a few teams this season (mibby with ex-Celts Bain in goal and Soro in midfield if he impresses on trial this week).
I agree Paul it’s likely that we’ll ‘get more games into legs’ so we’re ready for our Almaty Adventure.
Aside, I found this explained video from The Athletic interesting on the multi-layers of getting deals done with players; parsimonious Boards really didn’t get a mention – it was more about player demands and expectations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKQrUs9ku6I&t=126s
Keep an eye on the referee on Friday night – Lloyd Wilson. He’s one for the watching. This is what The Scotsman says about him.
“Last season, he took charge of eight Scottish Premiership games. During the 2024/25 season, Wilson handed out a total of 34 yellow cards (an average of 4.25 per game), and three red cards (0.38 per game). He has taken charge of four Premier Sports Cup ties and one Scottish Championship game this season, issuing 12 yellow cards (an average of 2.4 per game), and no red cards.”
Back in the day,when he was a lowly trainee ref, he told me of the laugh they (Lanarkshire refs) had following Caley Thistle’s hand ball magic trick in the semifinal. This was at their midweek training/coaching session and it was guffaws and back slapping all around. He thought it was great fun.
I know you have to be a bit of a megalomaniac to want to be a referee in the first place, but I’d be very surprised if Llyodyboy doesn’t grab the headlines on Friday night.
(I do hope I’m wrong).
tbb.
excellent explanation.
i am always puzzled as to why people think cash reserves are making desmond richer or inflating the share price .
quite simply for me we are that rare thing a profitable business that doesnt pay a dividend on ordinary shares.
if an investor bought out a majority shareholding that would be changed i am convinced of that
also if it all was about making money an investor could argue that by making less last year. 13 million versus 25 million the year before then we are not as well run .
those are not the right numbers just an example.
as you say . what they want is consistent and predictable returns.
TBB
It maybe not so much a management issue as an industry structural one. (Although our coms are really crap).
We have been the best run in Scotland and can’t make it work.
Financials in Holland and Portugal where there is slightly more scale to work with and the fundamentals are more favourable still point to it not working there either. Eg Ajax and Benfica
This being so I suggest it is not the management but the market which is the issue.
Either way though as the best run (commercial) entity in almost all of the non big 5 leagues we are still not ripe for anyone buying at a premium any time soon as scope for sustainable long term growth is not evident.
It’s about waiting and hoping for and even engineering significant change in the market dynamic for any real value growth to accrue.
An exit now would only make sense if he really needed the cash imo.
“ What we have here is a failure to communicate “ said with a southern drawl
Cool Hand Brendan CSC
We are once again entering a Champions League qualification stage woefully underprepared. Best striker sold, best winger sold, next best winger long term injury but known about since April.
In the past 15 years, we have failed to get past (on the pitch) Sion, Legia Warsaw, Maribor, Molde, AEK Athens, Cluj, Fenenvarocos and Mitdylland, whilst scraping past Shakter Karagandy, Qarabag and Hapoel. The only ‘comfortable’ ties were Helsingborg in a PO and Astana in PO (even then a nervy second half in Kazakhstan).
That is beyond failure to prepare a team with a vastly superior budget (well revenue) year upon year. Celtic should be operating at a Benfica, Ajax, Club Brugge level and we are not.
Brendan is going into yet another qualifier with one arm tied behind his back. Missing a CL quality striker and a CL quality winger at a minimum, which is frankly unforgivable. Given the vast resources in the bank, it makes absolutely no sense – not to mention no ‘business sense’ given £20m in transfer fees should almost guarantee CL entry (£40m reward), or gamble with the tie and have to spend £30m to get the same 2-3 players who would’ve cost £20m 1 month earlier.
A proper football club would have sorted this in January – players in the door, all focus on late August. To sell our main striker on January eve, whilst still in UCL competition, and not have him replaced 8 months later….
I will not be surprised if we are knocked out. Our front 3 of Maeda, Idah and Forrest may just be about good enough as a starting 3, but given there is 180, possibly 210, minutes in a tie involving lengthy travel and an SPFL game sandwiched in between, I am deeply concerned. Kairat should just park the bus at Celtic Park, try a 0-0 or even a narrow Celtic win, then it’s anybody’s tie in Kazakhstan.
For anyone to suggest Celtic have been a success over the last 20 years —> I would refute this. We have been a failure on the European stage – where UCL group/ league phase involvement should be the bare minimum. Even in UEL we cannot get past a single KO stage. Sevco have managed more in Europe in their short life!
Sorry for long rant. Hope you’re doing well Paul and rest of CQN crew.
Good afternoon all. Scorchio 🥵
SONSOFERIN on 14TH AUGUST 2025 12:33 PM
Cool Hand Brendan CSC
———————.
👏👏 Well played
B78
I think DD’s original investment was made on the basis of a punt on getting access to the EPL. The multipliers would astonish.
Funny thing is, he’s wealthy enough to make it happen – I wrote a long time ago back in the Betdaq days that he (and a few like minds) might pony up an offer the EFL clubs couldn’t refuse to merge into a British League with the SPL. The Premiership would then have a difficult decision denying a sporting merit entry to the (eventually) Scottish winners of the new league.
My other mad idea was to buy Southampton who were available in administration for £10M at the time. Not to subsume them, but simply to grow the business in the same way one might grow a chain in any other industry. PL actually looked at that but it was knocked back on the grounds of a proposed ban on dual economic interests. Of course, nowadays it’s a fairly common model in the football world.
In the here and now, I think we should be using the cash to buy a higher level of young talent than we do currently. We seem pretty good at adding value this way so add a zero to incoming transfer fees, bust the wage structure for 3 or 4 like them, and let’s see what we can do with them.
I suppose Engels could be thought of as a prototype and perhaps that’s what we’re currently trying to do, hence it all being a bit sticky transfers-wise right now – imagine if we are trying to sign a handful of highly promising young players at the limits of our wage structure (risk appetite) who hope to have bigger offers from elsewhere. It’ll likely go to the wire. And it would likely look like this.
An alternative theory – Occam’s razor perhaps – is that the club won’t sanction the ‘marquee’ targets the manager wants unless the manager is committed beyond the current season. My sense is that he won’t be here to take them for preseason next summer. Certainly that’s the vibe I’m picking up.
PATRICK27 on 14TH AUGUST 2025 12:37 PM
Good post mate 👏 very factual
The “beyond failure” is pertinent, it seems more like ‘managed decline’ there are dozens of reasons about why the recruitment ‘might have stalled’ or ‘been stalled’ despite BR’s chrystal clear messages to the supporters. We don’t know yet, what’s happening, the recruitment process and the recruitment team isn’t even producing click bait never mind players, maybe the media are toying with us as Paul67 suggests.
Not what the supporter expected, or was ‘entitled’ to expect, even by Celtic standards it’s a belter of a window.
I’m just glad we are a stand-alone club and don’t have to bother about what’s happening anywhere else……
Scaniel @ 12.09
The Masons played The Knights of St Columba in a pre season friendly the other night, down the Green. Couldn’t find out the score, it’s a secret 👍
@HM CSC
Patrick27 on 14th August 2025 12:37 pm
All valid points.
It could be we will become active during or after the Champions League play off however I won’t hold my breath.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason we are hoarding cash is to stay just that little bit ahead of the competition and therefore keep interest in domestic competition high and crreate the illusion of competition domestically.
That would be fine however, as you’ve pointed out, that doesn’t explain our deplorable results in Europe.
People may debate long and hard about recruitment but for me the Club is not the best version of itself that it could be.
BSR @ 1.14
Score might be a secret, but I’d bet the Freemasons got a dodgy penalty
GARYGILLESPIESHAMSTRING on 14TH AUGUST 2025 1:31 PM
BSR @ 1.14
Score might be a secret, but I’d bet the Freemasons got a dodgy penalty
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Well played 👏👏
BOURNESOUPRECIPE
Don’t encourage him ffs 🤣
BIGRAILROADBLUES
Here’s one for the Vicky Bar,
‘Completed my first nude painting this morning!
The neighbours weren’t too pleased – but I think the front door is lovely’
Chic Murray appreciation society CSC
“bournesouprecipe on 14th August 2025 1:58 pm
Completed my first nude painting this morning!
The neighbours weren’t too pleased – but I think the front door is lovely’”
:-))))))
TBB…”My sense is that he won’t be here to take them for preseason next summer.”
You may well be right but for me , I don’t really care. Brendan, good coach though he is, maybe is getting close to the end of his shelf life. Letting go of something that has worked well for the past few years can be hard but fresh ideas can also be exciting…certainly better than becoming stale and repetitive.
If he does remain it might be a good idea to bring new blood to his backroomstaff.
😂
BSR 😀
spot on paul67 – I don’t like the sound of kairat a t’all.
they all need a run out – Idah to score two at the weekend and blast the kazakhs
Can you brew a more streetwise beer by using hip-hops ?
quality dad joke quadro
jackiemac on 14th August 2025 2:31 pm
quality dad joke quadro
———-
👍 an’ there was me picturing maself as the Celtic Tim Vine !!
Looking forward to hearing and even singing ‘Sunshine on Leith tonight’.
Hoping Hibs surely won’t Hibs this one.
I feel I have a personal score to settle with Partisan Belgrade after the visit to Mostar and the return game back in the day. The Mostar hedge put Brechin to shame I recall.
In the return game at CP our pole scored 4 and Andy Walker another at home we somehow conceded 4 that night and snatches defeat from the jaws of victory in the 90th minute.
What crystal clear message. Innuendo and fame playing from the outset might be another read of it.
Why is this guy failing from a strong position when our Australian succeeded starting from scratch ?
Far too much levity and not enough gravitas on this blog. Ya bams.
now that’s funny 😊
TBB
Agree with all the above.
The challenge of attracting and developing top talent in spfl is one our manager is now realising is not as easy as he thought. Regardless of funds he had at his disposal.
TBB
My long held criticism of those running the club was that agitating for change in structure should have been a high level agenda item. Instead it seems to have always been a nice to have.
It seems odd given the obvious financial upside.
BRRB
Just you stay off the Gravitas.
Stick to the bamness.
Or the Guinness.
GGH
You may have a point. 🤔🤣
Surely the opposite of levity should be gravity?
Just trying to bring the discussion back to earth…