You would be forgiven for thinking Honest Dave King is a bit preoccupied by the C word. Every time he extrapolates where the club he supports (through an accomplished undermining strategy) is heading, the subject returns to knocking Celtic off their lofted perch.
This task could take £30m-£50, King estimates, a burden he is willing to share with others, although he does not appear to put a figure on his own piece of the action. Ploughing £50m into newco Rangers over the next five years would certainly help, but it would still leave them short of Celtic’s projected income over the period, and in this town, success is a zero sum game.
Top dog gets a crack at Champions League income, which is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. For a Scottish club to get into the Champions League in a responsible manner, they need Champions League income more seasons than not. Alternatively, they can gamble recklessly, build up contractual commitments which stretch out for years into the future, in the hope that they out-perform the other would-be top dog.
We’ve seen this movie before, it is the arms race that David Murray bulldozed Scottish football into. It was calamitous for his club, which was sold for £1 to an insolvency specialist before being liquidated.
It had consequences for Celtic too. Fergus McCann build a stadium and left us almost debt free, but in the intervening 20 years Celtic lost far more than they would have, if they had copied the lavish spend (and tax) policies Murray undertook with Rangers.
Things are different now. We have cash in the bank, a winning team on the field, who have qualified for the Champions League group stages twice in succession, and we’re guaranteed to be seeded to qualify again next season. We also have a secure long-term borrowing facility, so in the event of a reversal in qualification, the club would not be put in jeopardy.
Starting an arms war with this Celtic team would be an act of remarkable courage. Observers will also note that the upper limit of King’s expected requirement, £50m, is just a little less than 10 times what the highest bidder for Rangers assets managed to clean up with, when the supporter’s need was greatest.
There is an alternative football development strategy, it’s called sustainability. Budget to spend no more than what you expect to earn, appoint good coaches and scouts, pay your tax and look the world in the eye.
Engage fans in this sustainability model. Tell them the road to the top will have twists and turns, and will take a while, but they can be sure their club will never be liquidated. This is the only way to run a football club, whether your Celtic, Aberdeen or newco Rangers. It’s not always popular, there will often be calls to speculate a little more, but it will ensure the club survives.
King is a smart guy, so he will know this. He’s even lived through all the pain and drama once before, so the sustainability question will be intimately familiar to him. The question, therefore, is why is he attempting to lead strategy into the Clyde, flute in hand, like some latter-day Pied Piper of Govan?
He seems reluctant to underestimate Celtic but I detect a belief that the hedge funds, not to mention the Easdales, can be shoved around. That is courageous.
Keep up the good work, Dave.
Here we Go for 10 In a Row!
The 10th annual CQN charity golf day is set for Aberdour Golf Club on Friday 4th July. As ever it will be oversubscribed so if you’re interested in attending drop an email to BlantyreKev and Taggsy at cqnopen10IAR@gmx.co.uk as soon as you can.
Cost for the full day’s entertainment including golf is £80. There are a very limited number of non golfer evening places at £45.
Further detail will be released nearer the date and when places confirmed.
Seville – The Celtic Movement:
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Man U defence is porous
Dzeko again. 2-0.
Quonno, cheers
googybhoy ♥ we are all Neil Lennon
20:57 on 25 March, 2014
Been in Manchester for 29 yrs.
Still not bothered who wins the Derby.
Hail Hail
Could you not find your way back after the RV game?
the_huddle
20:49 on
25 March, 2014
——————————-
What about the Arsenal?
Rubbish.
Celtic and Munich are about the only consistently good football teams in Europe,domestically.
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GCT and A light Insanity – Sorry to hear about the sad lose of your loved ones.
YNWA.
Seriously…..
What price do you think Bayern -3 at the Theatre of Bad Dreams?
Will be shorter priced than many think.
A light insanity
Condolences in your sad loss
djbee
21:03 on 25 March, 2014
googybhoy ♥ we are all Neil Lennon
20:57 on 25 March, 2014
Been in Manchester for 29 yrs.
Still not bothered who wins the Derby.
Hail Hail
Could you not find your way back after the RV game?
……….
RV game ????
Rapid Vienna
This present Celtic team would crush Manchester United,on any given day.
A light insanity
Sorry to hear of your sad loss
Jimmyquinsbits…
Less corporation tax generally means more jobs in a developed economy.
I have no political or fiscal ace to grind as I hate all self serving politicians and flawed tax systems equally as much.
Only say it as I see it mate.
ryecatcher
Seriously…..
What price do you think Bayern -3 at the Theatre of Bad Dreams?
Will be shorter priced than many think.
———-
Any good team, that’s wants to score against Man U will do easy this season. City are laying in 1st gear here, Bayern will destroy them (if they want).
Moyes is an average manager. Scary that they will stick with him until at least next season when Man U are still struggling.
djbee
Got you Rapid Vienna match.
Nah had been down here a couple of years by then.
Went to the match with about Twenty City and Utd mates that night.
Ace= Axe
Frigging ipad
Man utd will need a minimum of 4 players before they could be even considered a serious challenger for next season, and that is being kind.
16roads
“This present Celtic team would crush Manchester United,on any given day.”
Last night our back 5 were better than both barca AND Reals.
And yet we are gonna struggle with the cl qualifiers. Whoda thunkit?;-)
.
Can Celtic win the league this week if Abredeen lose..
TIA..
Summa
Apart from the result v RV
It was a great night.
All of the Mancs I went with that night are Celtic fans now.
Man U have too many ordinary players.
Raphael is murder ,as is Wellbeck ,Cleverley is invisible .
Jones is a donkey.
TT
Arsenal…..whoosh
You really fear for ManU against Bayern. They could get absolutely walloped.
googybhoy ♥ we are all Neil Lennon
I was only thirteen or fourteen at that game. got there before the pubs opened so we went to Liverpool for the day. Never forget the experience. For some strange reason never been back in Manchester.
Bit of a strange question but CQN being the fountain of all knowledge i thought id ask anyway…
Anyone ever heard of ‘sports migraines’?
Iv been taking these frequently over the past 10 years or so after playin football or any physical activity….
Recently they have been gettin more and more severe and lasting longer
As i said i know its a strange one and no one seems to have an answer as to how to prevent them or treat them
Many thanks
B-)
Summa of Sammi….
21:15 on
25 March, 2014
.
Can Celtic win the league this week if Abredeen lose..
TIA..
Summa
if they lose or draw we can win it tomorrow ;-)
Summa of Sammi….21:15:
If Aberdeen lose tonight a point tomorrow at Firhill will be good enough for us.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Summa
If scores remain the same a draw tomorrow night and it’s in the bag :-D
Great save by langfield and goal kick given.
Googybhoy….
Mancs as Celtic fans?
About as rare as a Slimfit shirt in Eric Cantona’s current wardrobe.
1 each dons
Aberdeen equalise
Aberdeen equalise
bhoylo83
21:18 on 25 March, 2014
Bit of a strange question but CQN being the fountain of all knowledge i thought id ask anyway…
Anyone ever heard of ‘sports migraines’?
Iv been taking these frequently over the past 10 years or so after playin football or any physical activity….
Recently they have been gettin more and more severe and lasting longer
As i said i know its a strange one and no one seems to have an answer as to how to prevent them or treat them
Many thanks
B-)
Ask bournesouprecipe, he’s a doc. Good luck.
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
1-1 Aberdeen lucky
jobo baldie
21:21 on 25 March, 2014
Gonnae stope copyin’ me….hahahahahahahahahahahahaha……
WGS said that in all his time in England he had set up his teams not to lose.
It was more difficult in Scotland as he had to set up a team to win every week.
Think Moyes is finding that out .
ryecatcher
21:12 on
25 March, 2014
Jimmyquinsbits…
Less corporation tax generally means more jobs in a developed economy.
I have no political or fiscal ace to grind as I hate all self serving politicians and flawed tax systems equally as much.
Only say it as I see it mate.
——————————————-
Not necessarily. A business doesn’t simply take on more staff because it has a reduced liability. It might do if it used the additional cash to invest and expand and that expansion created more jobs. But equally it could hand out a bigger dividend to shareholders. With the bigger businesses the chances are that the majority of jobs created as a result of any expansion would be outsourced and overseas. Cheaper labour there.
.
I’m a Feckin Jinx..
Sorry Bhoys/Celtic..
Off Oot..;-(
Summa
A light insanity
Prayers and thoughts on the death of your loved one. Will remember him at church tomorrow.