Celtic released their interim financial statement for the six months to 31 December 2023 this afternoon. They will doubtlessly stun and frustrate you in equal measure. Revenue for the first half of a season reached a new high of £85.2m (2022: £76.5m).
Pretax profit for the period was £30.302m, down slightly on the 2022 figure of £33.830m and remember, Celtic are one of the clubs who pay their taxes, so worth recording the after-tax figure is £22.68m.
Our amortisation figure for the six month period was almost dead level with the previous year at just north of £6m. You’ll know what amortisation is, so CQN would never bore you explaining that one. The sale of Jota was included in last year’s accounts, so the player sales figure from 1 July was £2.591m. Cash in the bank at the end of the calendar year was an astonishing £67.327m, up £7m on a year earlier.
All that money and two points behind in the table is the elephant in the document. Chairman Peter Lawwell noted his disappointment at the lack of significant transfer business done during the January window:
“The Board’s commitment is to strengthen and improve the playing squad in every transfer window and although resources were available, we were unable to further add to the squad due to the unavailability of identified targets.
“This was disappointing to us all, and never the intention. The January transfer window is notoriously difficult as clubs are very reluctant to let their best players go at such a crucial time of the season just as we are. Indeed, we resisted strong interest in our players from other clubs.”
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Bit of revisionism taking place about the summer transfer window?
Agree many of the new signings have (subsequently) not contributed enough to the first team – but that’s a different point.
I wonder how much perceptions would have changed if we had not bothered with Tillo and Kwon.
We signed up our core on long term contracts.
We signed Holm and Bernardo to replace a retiring Mooy.
One was a rising talent in Scandinavia. The other had a similar level of experience to Jota.
Aaron was an influential player, but didn’t play enough minutes. At the time I thought most of his numbers could be picked up by the two young guys (particularly Holm) … with a more settled, experienced trio of Calum, Matt and Reo picking up the slack.
Carl left – we bought two decent (on paper) young replacements to grow alongside CCV.
Jota left – big hole – but manageable to a degree IF
– we bought some decent quality wingers
– Daizen & Liel stayed fit and continued to do some heavy lifting while Palma and (more developmentally) Yang were integrated.
As for the three other positions many cried out for?
– Joe is playing very well in goal
– Our “needs upgraded” left back has clearly been missed recently
– Striker? Absolutely. We needed another body.
As I said above, easy to blame the window but, IMHO, not fair.
Disruption has dominated our season.
New manager after Ange left suddenly.
Disruption at CB with CCV injured
Disruption in midfield with Reo injured
Disruption on the wings with Daizen and Liel out for ages.
Absolutely wretched sequence of events.
I draw some comfort from the fact that, despite so much going wrong, we’re still in with a shout.
Back to Basics
I think I understand your point. However, it’s a little bit “ok, our scouting and signing strategies are crap, but what if things were different”
That’s kinda where I’m coming from.
We need to analyse and improve our in house operations
To me, ‘unavailability’ suggests external factors. Absolutely no self awareness or reflection. Nothing to see here. It’s all them ‘uns. Those nasty clubs, agents and players making themselves unavailable to us.
We need to be better. We need to stop making excuses. Plenty other clubs (within our peer comparison range) have improved over the last 12 months.
We have regressed. Would anyone argue against that we have? Why is that? What do we need to do differently.
Responsibility sits in house. We can’t just do the same this year and hope ‘unavailability’ improves.
No excuses for this poor player trading and poor recruitment department not fit for purposes. Injuries are part.and parcel of football. Not investing and not having a core of experienced players or a being an amb
No excuses for this poor player trading and poor recruitment department not fit for purposes. Injuries are part and parcel of football. Not investing and not having a core of experienced players or a being an ambitious club are the reason we sit currently sit second in the league. Sheer neglect and truly unfortunately unforgivable for me.
Your right there is no excuse for poor player trading, it has been over several windows not 1, the reason is the club policy of buy cheap and young, sell high, Lawwells plural out that is where I would start today.
Sorry for the typos and rant but the simple fact we’re having these discussions truly irks me. We look across Europe and see clubs better run and equipped who have done better with player trading and achieving European footy post Jan.
Here is great tune and performance to lift the mood.
💚🤍💛👌
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=RDa_7S18Ga88A&playnext=1&si=5qnCzGFoKQMB4ABZ
Celtic has a desire to reach the cl but that’s it the board want the money , the first team and first team squad is secondary to the desire to collect money,that outlook needs to change along with all those who facilitated this over many years.
Celtic fc first ,Celtic plc 2nd
At present we are wasting fortunes look at the squad who can we sell from outside our core players, all those who have joined are relatively worthless but on great contracts so we either pay them off or as with James Mccarthy be a drag on the wage bill for the term of their deal.
The statement after the results yesterday are an insult to us that put our hard earned cash into our club.
No accountability or strategy. Heads should absolutely roll
BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL on 23RD FEBRUARY 2024 6:46 PM
Not an issue pal. Like all (most) of us who post on here, we want the same thing.
:
If we hand Sevco a treble, something will have to give. Hopefully not just Rodgers getting the bullet but a complete revamp from top to bottom.
BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL on 24TH FEBRUARY 2024 9:22 AM
Some valid points but even without Tilio and Kwon my biggest concern was spending £8m on centre-backs our manager considers no better than Welsh or Scales. We were a Kyogo international call-up away from disaster and no left-back cover has seen us try Ralston in that position.
Palma has been our biggest success and that speaks volumes.
No matter which way we dress it up, the summer window was a very poor one.
Maestro
ACSOM were at the CST Meeting Thursday night and feedback can be seen here
https://x.com/ACSOMPOD/status/1761005573603303578?s=20
All this talk about this player that player being not good enough,are they ? As I can see Rodger’s has really made some of these players scapegoats,without some of them either not getting game time or injured,also naming them to on the media,which to me isn’t the right thing to do, no wonder at times these players are having a bad game,he has installed a fear culture in players scared to make decisions on passing the ball
Maestro
I attended the CST meeting on behalf of Sentinel Celts and reported back with what I took away.
You can read it at
https://sentinelcelts.com/2024/02/22/time-to-go/comment-page-3/#comment-320117
Thanks Auldhied I had heard about the recent meeting on ACSOM yesterday I will have a read and I have my late Father’s shares and I am keen for our voices to be heard as one and unified
I however still believe and hope we can make a difference.
Also I feel as supporters and fans we could make the difference at matches but the broken board has only increased the angst and frustration.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1761301670481604656
Tillio – Plays 10 minutes then deemed not good enough – Loaned
Lagerbielke – Plays a few games then deemed no good enough or too slow – Tried to offload
Nawrocki – Picks up an injury then given a few minutes
Kwon – loan
Johnston – Loan
Kuhn – Told he was definitely not a project and ready for the first team – Sub appearances
Palma – In and out of the team
Holm – In and out
Idah – Last minute signing
This has disaster written all over it. Board gets a hammering and deservedly so but remember Rodgers has stated he “signed off” on these guys so he is also culpable. Total car crash season awaits.
SCULLYBHOY on 24TH FEBRUARY 2024 11:01 AM
Surely no worse than the garbage we are playing on the wing at present?
“Opinions don’t affect facts. But facts should affect opinions, and do, if you’re rational.”
— Ricky Gervais
Hot Smoked, given we fell at the first hurdle of the league Cup, finished last in our European group and are currently second in the league having relinquished our early season advantage, in your opinion are we having a successful season
Glenowen – cheers.
Good points.
Regressed means gone backwards?
If so, performance wise we’ve regressed from last season. No question.
Quite a few (including on here) are quick to ascribe that fact to a “malaise”, “rot”, “terminal decline” thus rendering our club a “laughing stock”
(BTW – quotes from multiple opinions)
I don’t buy that as I don’t see the evidence to support it.
We went from the high of a treble-treble to the COVID season – our lowest low in 30 years.
Ange came in.
We went from low to high and then very high … in just two years.
Maybe along the way he eked every ounce of physical, emotional and psychological energy from the squad into the short and medium term.
And maybe what we witnessed was a temporary high … the price of which is a temporary dip now.
(We could debate this endlessly but the drop off after Ange announced his departure was incredible).
So maybe we’re lower than last year, still much higher than COVID year and are going to have to reset, squeeze a league win and go upwards again more sustainably next season.
Final point I’d a general one if I may.
We keep recycling this constant negativity all the way?
It will affect the players
AND
you end up getting “even if we win the league it will still be a failure”
Without doubt, IMHO, one of most damning things about a fan’s relationship with his/her team I have ever read on here.
Back to Basics
Agree with what you say. We have regressed, we have made mistakes in our recruitment strategy. To me, there is a breakdown somewhere along the way.
The ‘field to fork’ of a new signing. Quite where the breakdown is, I’m unsure.
Completely agree that this is not terminal. We have a league trophy to retain.
Winning the league would make this (and any other) a very successful season.
A new article will be up at noon.
We tried our best, we’ll do better next time.
Sound familiar?
Watched, for the millionth time, The Invincibles, wowee.
Players apart, the style of play, is the polar opposite of the stuff today, why I ask. The wingers were supplying so many crosses I could have scored them, well, maybe.
Really though, don’t get it.
An aside, is Craig Gordon an option for keeper, ????
KINGLuBO