For as long as you or I can remember, Celtic’s youth teams have had a fearsome reputation, winning countless titles, even with Kenny McDowall as head coach, but something inevitably goes wrong. Clubs like Dundee United, Hibs, Hearts and even Hamilton Accies have a better record of graduating prospects, despite having a poorer youth team to pick from.
The other fearsome reputation we had, was that Celtic was one of the places young talent came to wither on the vine, before shuffling off to a minor club at around 21-years-old. Where would you send your boy, Celtic or Dundee United………?
The argument goes that clubs like United have more opportunity to blood young talent than Celtic, who for long periods of the last 20 years were locked in an all-or-nothing battle for supremacy, or the need to reach the Champions League group stage, or the next level of the Champions League. This theory doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, though, as clubs with higher still demands are able to mature young talent through first team exposure.
The truth is it’s never been a first team priority, as we have been caught in a ‘buy success’ mentality for close to 30 years.
Still only 18, Liam Henderson has as much chance as anyone who have come through the ranks in the last couple of decades of making it as a top player at Celtic, but he needs to be stretched by playing competitive senior football over the next three years, cameo appearances here and there will not provide the platform he needs. A few months at Rosenborg, who kick off a new league season on Monday, will give him opportunities he’s not going to see at Celtic between now and the end of the season.
Did you see what newco director, Paul Murray, did with his stock market announcement yesterday?
He wrote, “I have been informed by Deloitte, the existing auditor, that they informed the previous Board of their intention to resign following the June 2014 audit. The previous Board chose not to announce this nor did they find a replacement for Deloitte. With limited time to have these results reviewed the Board asked Jeffreys Henry to perform the exercise as Independent Reporting Accountants, not auditors.”
On reading this many were inclined to conclude the reason Deloitte did not act as Independent Reporting Accountants for their interims was because they had left the building. Not so. Murray later confirmed to a Daily Record financial reporter (not the football guys) that Deloittes are still newco’s auditors. I am sure there is a perfectly good reason they didn’t sign off the interims. Maybe they were busy that day.
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Tom McLaughlin
13:04 on
1 April, 2015
Tony Donnelly –
I bought 3 tickets online.
3 x ₤23 =₤69
plus ₤5.82 recorded delivery
plus internet charges 3 x ₤1.50 = ₤4.50
Total ₤79.32
So it’s an extra ₤10.32 for 3 tickets.
I am happy to pay for the recorded delivery but how can an internet charge be per ticket rather than per transaction?
—————————————————————-
There can be no justification for charging you a fee when the alternative, i.e. turning up in person at a ticket office to make a purchase must be more costly to the seller. The purchaser may be happy with the postage cost which in some circumstances is less than the transport and disruption costs associated with travelling to and from a ticket office. GHis is clearly just another way of ripping of consumers. Scottish football has to wake up to the fact that very few domestic fixtures justify ticket only entrance.
The introduction of contactless cards makes it possible for supporters to turn up and “pay at the gate” without the hastle of ordering and paying extra for tickets in advance or making an extra journey to a a ticket office to make a purchase in person.
I know clubs/football authorities are wary of going down this route as they want the money up front which they have whether supporters actually turn up or not on the day of the match. However, the current system does not cater for the casual supporter who fancies taking in a match on a whim or suddenly gets time off work/family resposnibilities at the last minute and can attend. Clubs and the SFA should be looking at making it easier and cheaper for supporters to get to matches and less prone to shysters such as Tickemaster and StubHub. The fact they don’t, means that they are in cahoots with these corporate bandits.
TBB
Fair comment.
But, it’s in my nature to pay only as a last resort!
HH
Tamrabam
13:44 on
1 April, 2015
It seems that Spiersy reckons the huns will win the Premier league in around 18 months time- has he been snue gliffing???
Not so far fetched.
Hand on heart. What would your reaction have been in March 1965, if some had forecast that 26 months later, Celtic would be Champions of Europe.
Thomthetim.
Ouch!
£30 admin by Europcar? They’re at it.
HH
m6bhoy-spot on mate,lack of pay at the gate is a bugbear of mine.HH
Quonno
nah its far fetched.
Jonny the Tim
Stick on the tunes and accept tips from unsuspecting drunken tims..
isn’t that what you are meant to do? 8))
Jonny the Tim
The same thing happened to me a few years ago, only difference was the police said they seen me going through a red light, not a camera. I ended up having to go to court four times before I finally won. The question is is it worth the time off work etc. this is what the police and courts bank on. Good luck.
Good luck Liam Henderson.
Kenny Dalglish was signed by Celtic and put out to Cumbernauld Utd to improve physically and keep match fit.
At Cumbernauld, his bum developed extraordinary shielding powers and he never looked behind again.
You have the ability and you have the passion. RD has made a clear investment in your development since he has selected the top Norwegian side to take you on loan. Come back in the summer and be ready for the CL qualifiers.
We’ll be watching Rosenberg’s results.
HH
BTW, you’re only 18 –
If you haven’t read Praecepta’s post @13:37 hrs then please do. Excellent. HH
m6bhoy – !!Bada Bing!!
Have often wondered why clubs don’t have ticket machines (like railway stations) for sales on the day when seats are available.
Stroll up to machine; select ticket(s) for an unreserved/empty section – pop in your credit card and pay and machine issues the ticket(s) there and then.
Seems to work for the railways!
geordie munro
14:02 on 1 April, 2015
Thomthetim,
Don’t get me started on the teachers.
*other whiskies are available :)
******
Teachers was my father’s first job when leaving school, circa 1930.
He left that to work in a sandpaper factory!
Must have been rough stuff, thin Teachers!
******
Jonny the tim,
£30 plus £6 VAT.
Still not over it?
* thin= thon.
Autocorrect only recognises thin teachers.
praecepta-the sections currently empty could be used for pay at gate punters.
TTT
Aye, the old auto correct excuse 8))
Quonno 14.10
I know it’s 1st April and all that, but have you been sniffing the same glue as Speirs?
http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/international/ireland-and-poland-face-uefa-charges-over-dublin-qualifier-1.2161255
Jonny the Tim
All road traffic offences are time barred after six month’s, but it’s not as easy as just throwing it in the bin…. not that I’m implying anything…!
And then getting worried at the second letter…..!
It’s no going away…throwing it a deefy disny work.
Now if some rascal was to come up with a scheme where say, a taxi driver didny pay a fine and the the Fed’s contacted Glasgow City Council to have a look at his licence, surely the excuse of, I don’t stay at that address and never received the letter would impact somewhere in supplying false details to obtain a taxi licence would come into play…
Now I’m just playing Devils Advocate.
But I’d probably just pay it ya tight…..rascal..
Ayrshire is Green and White
Quonno
Or do you equate the current sevco squad, and management with what we had in March 1965?
praecepta
Great post!
You should put that up every day to remind all the moaning minnies on here how good things are.
Mind you, there’s no pleasing some people.
And you all know who I’m talking about!
Dontcha?
Qhonno
Ridiculous post.
Quonno even.
….FOR WE ONLY KNOW
THAT THERE’S GOING TO BE A SHOW
AND THE GLASGOW CELTIC WILL BE THEEEEEERRRREEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AW NAW, A PAGE 2 REVERSE PODIUM.
!!Bada Bing!!
Agree – but with current turnstile design maybe not practical. IMO similar machines to those that you find at stations/underground would be a quicker method of ticket sales on the day than joining lengthy queues outside the Ticket Office.
The tickets in the machines would have to be for dedicated empty sections.
praecepta
14:40 on 1 April, 2015
!!Bada Bing!!
Agree – but with current turnstile design maybe not practical. IMO similar machines to those that you find at stations/underground would be a quicker method of ticket sales on the day than joining lengthy queues outside the Ticket Office.
The tickets in the machines would have to be for dedicated empty sections.
₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩
I’m sure you can do this sort of thing in Spain.?
HH
Is pay at the gate not just the same as the ticket office with less people in employment
HH
Geordie Munro
pay at the gate gives the club and the authorities less power over who attends the match, when buying a ticket you give personal details which are kept in order to beat you with should you misbehave or give your ticket to someone who does….
paranoid tim.com
GM-Saves folk queuing for 40 mins then waiting again to get in the ground.HH
unless of course you pay by debit card etc….
MickTT
Not sure about Sports Venues – but found something similar in USA Theme Parks.
Some shows within the park – you went to machine and entered; 2 Adults + 1 Child. The screen offered you availability and cost – you made a selection, paid by credit card and the machine printed your tickets there and then.
No lengthy queues – you then just headed to the turnstile entrance and you were in.
Technology!
BT-that could be used as a defence,but same happens with neds fae Aberdeen and nobody gets lifted….
Bt,
Not if I turn up and pay cash surely?
Bada,
So really we’re just needing a more efficient ticket office?
I agree though. The queues are rubbidge.
HH
Journalists have had to re-invent themselves since new media has left them with no edge in the business of news mongering.
Keevins, Young, Traynor, Jackson, etc have all shown how to make the news rather than report it (or just get out altogether); Ian Archer and Glenn Gibbons must be writing about the demise of their trade in some parallel universe. It would be a great read. My apologies for putting their names in the same sentence as the members of the No Integrity Club.
At times, Graham Spiers hadn’t seemed quite as sure about completely joining the dark side. He’s a good writer and had shown in his early days that he might confidently take up the Archer/Gibbons baton. Sometimes though his antecedents and fantasies get in the way.
In his current Herald column, he seems conflicted at best and confused at worst.
He maligns Murray the Younger for his lack of honesty on his own personal accountability for the demise of R****** 1872 (as Spiersy calls the deid entity) yet also questions the same man on his latest assertion that 2022 is the target date for a return of Blue Bear Days. It should be sooner than that, surely – opines wee Graham.
His argument is…well there is no argument or evidence in his piece to substantiate his conclusion. He ignores the melting façade of financial rectitude that Murray the Younger hides behind (again), and instead claims that the next managerial appointment is THE most important decision “the great catalyst for the future” is how he puts it. He even nominates some candidates such as McInnes and Davies.
In fairness, it is very hard to see clearly when your head is in the sand, but if he cannot connect dots that do not present a challenge a 5 year old, and cannot separate being a supporter from being a journalist, then he needs to move on to the Lifestyle section and leave room for some new blood.
HH
Very interesting speculative post by TBB,after reading it my main thought is that there’s another variable involved in any future success at Ibrox and that’s what Celtic decide to do.
If going by TBBs speculation that Ibrox could go for 2 championship titles in the short to medium term then surely Celtic should get into an arms race with them albeit this time we would know what’s under their bonnet and what they stand to lose?
Surely Celtic should be able to fend off any serious challenge from Ibrox for the forseeable future?
Paul67 et al
Speaking of financial disasters, just heard that debts at Bolton have increased to over £173 million, with a nearly £10 million loss season 2013-2014. Not down to Neil Lennon of course but it does ask questions about his decision to go there in the first place. Compare that with Southampton’s £33 million profit for the same financial year, two clubs going in totally different directions over a 2-3 period. Good luck NFL.
praecepta @13.57hrs.
Excellent post, but no doubt the glass half empty brigade will still quibble.
Its very easy to criticise, and yes we have got some things wrong, and yes we should have done some things differently but when you list what we have actually done right it makes our achievements hard to repudiate.
HH.
Quonno …. sadly, I dont think you are far wrong.
By all measures, (legal, financial, evolutionary), they should be no more…. but they are still around in a fashion (in large part because of special favours they receive in Scottish football and society generally). Similarly, they should not be around for much longer, but, they will get every consideration (and then some) to ensure that the zombie team survives ….
Aberdeen have put together a decent team without too much debt, and with a much smaller fan base than the zombie team. Once they get into the SPL (maybe this season, maybe next season), I dont think it will take long for them to put together a team that is competitive in the SPL … it may not be on the same level as us financially, but the most expensive team doesn’t always win ….
I think the real danger to celtic are (i) lack of regular competition which makes the jump to european calibre football difficult, and (ii) over confidence … which can lead to not working or taking SPL opponents seriously enough.
I would be thrilled to be wrong, and see us win 10 in a row .. but I would rather be careful, and not leave anything up to chance.