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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I appreciate theyre so bad they might not have been in the competition in the first place but why weren’t Man Utd as poor as this when we played them in the CL ?
We’d have dismantled them.
Magnificentseven,
I spoke to me nephew regarding your nephew Chris (boomer),
they are best of mates,my nephew Bradley tells me I have met Chris a number of times
Aberdeen draw and a win tomorrow night will see us Champions.
Bhoylo83
21:18 on 25 March, 2014
This will probably sound ridiculous but have you thought of going to see your doctor?
Geordie Munro
21:15 on
25 March, 2014
——————————
Yip.
FF.
ML…..VVD…..EA…..EI….
That is one of the best defensive units in European football.
Nir Biton and Stefan Johansen in midfield.
I have never seen a more unlucky club than Celtic though for injuries,cursed we are at times.
How many times have we seen Scottish goalkeepers actually leaving their area …..the Holy Goalie doesn’t leave his area but is penalised….bless them
9mins plus any injury time Robson MOM
gordybhoy64
21:23 on
25 March, 2014
Magnificentseven,
I spoke to me nephew regarding your nephew Chris (boomer),
they are best of mates,my nephew Bradley tells me I have met Chris a number of times
I think you have mixed me up with another poster, or got something wrong from one of my posts, I know I did post about my nephew recently, but I don’t have one called Chris. sorry!
quonno –
I don’t have a problem with what NFL said in Belfast.
He was asked a question and he answered honestly. To be fair, it wasn’t exactly a controversial question and his response is hardly likely to cause any ructions. It’s not as if he said, “Nah they’re skint.”
16roads
I’m not as sure.
But I ain’t gonna stop anyone being positive about oor team ;)
16 roads – glasgow celtic champions.
21:24 on 25 March, 2014
That because we play against cluggers
ryecatcher
21:12 on
25 March, 2014
Jimmyquinsbits…
‘Less corporation tax generally means more jobs in a developed economy.’
####
The SNP’s pledge is to have corporation tax 3% lower than the rest of the UK.
That’s neo liberalism in a nut shell.
Yet we’re urged to vote yes to ensure a socialist Scotland.
It’s nonsense on a pogo stick.
I think Man Utd will spend in the region of £100m this close season (Obscene I know).
Now I reckon for £20M they could start that rebuild by buying Forster, Matthews, Virgil and Lustig.
That is a Champions League defence augmented by who is already at man ure.
It gives them £80m to buy the ‘flair’ players.
So hypothetically, would people accept £20M for those four players, if the deals were done on the first day of the transfer window to allow replacements to be brought in right away?
This ref is really quite good by Scottish standards….hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
magnificentseven,
maybe got mixed up somewhere along the line,
was it not you with the nephew that played for St Peter the Apostle
and has now signed for Dundee Utd
Deary me. This ref in the staggy/Sheepy derby has missed a couple of big deflections.
Would love Everton to catch Arsenal for fourth place.
ImagineGormlessMoyes’faceCSC
City look very strong but I’d prefer to see Liverpool win the EPL this year.
Consodine off
Consadine sent off..but foul, not a pen…..had to get one right…hehe
67heaven
He got that one right. Lol
Decent game though imo
Good….missed…mon Aberdeen
gordybhoy64
21:30 on
25 March, 2014
magnificentseven,
maybe got mixed up somewhere along the line,
was it not you with the nephew that played for St Peter the Apostle
and has now signed for Dundee Utd
My nephew does play for them, but it wasn’t him who signed for United, I do remember it being mentioned though, might have been DelaneysDunkey
United facing a massive rebuilding job it looks like. They are really, really poor, and without Van Persie completely toothless.
No idea why Moyes spent so much on Mata, and Everton really did a number on him with Fellaini.
2-2 Arsenal. Oh dear.
3-0 Citeh. Gubbed.
Mon Aberdeen – wtf!
3-0 City. Too easy.
geordie munro
21:32 on 25 March, 2014
Great game….pity about the ref… :)
Magnificentseven,
sorry mucker,will have a look back to see if I can find the posts
Geordie Munro
21:28 on
25 March, 2014
————————————–
No worries mate,it’s probably the best defensive unit that I can remember.
We have been blessed with a good few outstanding individual backs,John Kennedy,Marc Reiper,Paul Elliot,Alan Stubbs,Johan Mjallby,Bobo Balde.
Speaking of a cohesive defense,the present one is the best by far.
67Heaven … I am Neil Lennon, supporting WEE OSCAR..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors
21:28 on
25 March, 2014
——————————————–
Never a truer word spoken.
HH.
If it remains a draw can we win the league tomorrow night
Sorry if I sounded astonished but are there folk who want Aberdeen to win tonight?
Davie Moyes looks to have aged ten years tonight.
HH!!
Gct,
I’d like to see someone new winning it.
Gooners or Liverpool.
Probably prefer Gooners as their fans are slightly behind in the baw bag stakes.
Anyone but Chelsea :-)
CelticSlowNews
Man Utd 4 Man City 3
CQN Saturday Naps Competition : Week 31/15th March & Week 32/22nd March results & standings
Week 31 winners :
PF Ayr (Lost Legend @9/1) and tommytwiststommyturns (Goulanes @13/2)
Week 32 winners :
fleagle1888 (Bellorophon @9/2) and green T (Kilgefin Star @11/8)
It’s all change at the top, as our resident PF scoots clear of the field…
+£20.60 PF Ayr (11)
+£17.00 Rockon Neil Lennon (8)
+£13.50 valentinesday (8)
+£ 7.50 tommytwiststommyturns (3)
+£ 2.50 leftclicktic (6)
+£ 1.88 Som mes que un club (5)
-£ 1.00 Bada Bing (4)
-£ 4.50 Cathal (4)
-£ 5.25 green T (6)
-£ 6.63 BMCUWP (6)
-£ 8.00 BULL67 (4)
-£ 8.00 fleagle1888 (4)
-£11.00 El Madrigal (3)
-£11.70 unionbearBhind (3)
-£13.75 16 roads (3)
-£14.50 What is the Stars (2)
-£14.75 Kilbowie Kelt (4)
-£18.50 twists n turns (2)
-£19.80 voguepunter (2)
-£22.25 Che (2)
-£24.20 Sponsored by Cheetah (2)
-£24.75 MHARK67 (2)
-£26.94 Burgas Hoops (2)
*No selections (wk 31) : Bada Bing, Burgas Hoops, Che, voguepunter, What is the Stars
*No selections (wk 32) : Burgas Hoops, Che, MHARK67, Sponsored by Cheetah, What is the Stars
*Non-Runners : (wk32) : twists n turns
Cheers, fleagle1888
67heaven … i am neil lennon, supporting wee oscar..!!.. ibrox belongs to the creditors
Yes if we win we win the league
The comfortable collective
I’d take £20m from them for Big Virgil.
£100m for the 4!