Over the last few days of the European transfer window I was keen to find out what business Ajax would be able to complete (what Milan and Barca did is of scant interest). Between Friday and yesterday Ajax lost two players, Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen moved to Tottenham, and yesterday, Belgian defender, Toby Alderweireld joined Atletico Madrid.
Both were big players for the Dutch champions, who could realise €20m from the sales, but attempts to sign Ola John from Benfica and Eljero lia of Werder Bremen failed, instead they paid Heracles Almelo €2.5m for midfielder Lerin Duarte.
The Amsterdamers had a frustrating final few hours of the window. No doubt potential targets were worried about having to face three huge teams in the Champions League. In a difficult group, this is what counts as a break for Celtic. Only five games into their league season and without Champions League qualifiers to use as a yardstick, the group stage will come early for Ajax.
Living adjacent to an over-monied behemoth has considerable drawbacks as even our top clubs struggle to retain teenagers in the face of English lower league competition but such a rich market can also bring enough transfer income to make the difference between feast and famine.
The English Premier League spent £445m on transfers outside England but apart from Celtic and Hamilton Accies, who between them will earn around 4% of that total, I don’t think anyone else in Scotland got a piece of the action.
Nurturing and selling talent to England has to be a strategy for dozens of clubs here. Paying (for them) top wages to players who are no longer able to gain employment in England can only be considered a waste by comparison.
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Good morning champions. . From a dry and warm Northampton. .
Murrayfield aint so good for 2014 qualifiers … won’t get as many tims travelling through there on a midweek evening
Joseph Ruddy @joebhoy2412 25m
Celtic spokesman: “We would of course plan to be back at CP for the European Play-Off rounds, if successful, and the start of the season.”
Celtic spokesman said: “We are presently considering possible venues for these matches.”
Celtic spokesman said: “In the event of Celtic’s qualification, Q2 and possibly Q3 would be played away from Celtic Park
Mgt McGill.
Us Ozzies are to busy trying to decide which super-right-wing-facist to have as next PM.
Go away! You’re not welcome here!
Of course, being aware that this is a family friendly forum, the above phrases have been toned down a bit.
CELTIC will have to play the home legs of next season’s Champions League qualifiers away from Parkhead, with Murrayfield emerging as a possible alternative venue.
Celtic Park is hosting the opening ceremony for the 2014 Commonwealth Games on 23 July and the likelihood is that the pitch will have to be relaid before it can be used again for football.
Glasgow 2014 staff reckon it will take “weeks” before the playing surface is ready for Celtic, and the Scottish champions will be forced to look for another ground. Hampden and Ibrox are also out of the running because they, too, are Commonwealth Games venues, so the home of Scottish rugby is being considered.
Celtic played their first home game this season on 23 July when they met Cliftonville in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Eight days later they played host to Elfsborg in the third qualifying round.
If the Parkhead side are to participate in next season’s competition, it is likely they will enter at the same stage as this season.
Celtic have accepted they will have to play the second and probably the third qualifying rounds (Q2 and Q3) away from Celtic Park but are hopeful their home pitch will be ready if they progress to the play-off stage.
A Celtic spokesman said: “In the event of Celtic’s qualification, Q2 and possibly Q3 would be played away from Celtic Park. We are presently considering possible venues for these matches.
“We would of course plan to be back at Celtic Park for the European Play-Off rounds, if successful, and the start of the season.”
Manager Neil Lennon stressed last week how important qualifying for the Champions League is to Celtic, both financially and in terms of prestige.
Around 58,000 were at Celtic Park for the Play-Off round match against Shakhter Karagandy and helped create a raucous atmosphere as Lennon’s side overturned a 2-0 deficit, winning 3-0 to qualify for the lucrative group stage.
Lennon later described the result and reaching the Champions League proper for the second successive season as “the greatest thing I’ve ever done in football”.
Last season’s run to the last 16 of the elite competition earned the club £22 million in television and prize money. This season, they will receive £14m for reaching the group stage to go with the £1.8m for participating in the Play-Off round. By contrast, if they’d lost to Karagandy and dropped into the Europa League they would have been guaranteed just £1.87m.
The stakes are incredibly high and Celtic will be mindful to avoid anything that threatens their qualifying prospects. Murrayfield is the biggest stadium in Scotland with a capacity of more than 67,000. Celtic are unlikely to need a stadium that size for the early qualifying rounds. However, there appear to be precious few alternatives.
Celtic attracted crowds of 30,000 and 40,000 for the matches against Cliftonville and Elfsborg and no other available Scottish football ground could accommodate such numbers. The biggest club grounds are Easter Road (20,000) and Pittodrie (22,000).
Kilmarnock’s Rugby Park would be a handier venue for the Celtic support but its capacity is just 18,000.
The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games will feature the athletes’ parade, with up to 4,500 participants from the 71 competing nations taking part.
A Glasgow 2014 spokesman said: “Glasgow 2014 is committed to returning Celtic Park to its pre-Games state as part of the Venue Use Agreement.
“Glasgow 2014 is developing contingency provision for an alternative venue for the fulfilment of the club’s competitive 2014 fixtures that are scheduled to be played at Celtic Park during the period of the organising committee’s use of the venue should that be required.”
The east end of Glasgow is undergoing major redevelopment and regeneration as a result of the Games.
Celtic Park is situated at the heart of the action, with the athletes’ village currently being constructed nearby. A stone’s throw from the ground are the new Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and the Emirates Arena which will host the cycling and badminton events in 2014.
Murrayfield has hosted football before, with Hearts playing a number of Uefa Cup and Champions League qualifying matches at the ground between 2004 and 2006. The Edinburgh side first played there against Braga in a Uefa Cup qualifying round match in season 2004-05 after it was claimed the pitch at Tynecastle was too small for European matches.
Murrayfield was also the venue for Hearts’ and Hibernian’s friendly matches against Barcelona in 2007 and 2008 respectively.
Almost 58,000 watched the Hearts v Barca match, the largest crowd to attend a football game in Edinburgh for 51 years.
Celtic playing home games away from Parkhead is not without precedent. They made Hampden their base for the duration of the 1994-95 season while Celtic Park was rebuilt. However, taking their games to Edinburgh presents a new set of challenges.
While Murrayfield’s capacity more than meets Celtic’s needs and its proximity to Haymarket station is a bonus, playing in Edinburgh would mean an 80-mile round trip for the majority of the club’s supporters.
The Games will also mean Hampden becoming a football-free zone for the best part of a year. The national stadium is the athletics venue for 2014 and will close to football in November.
The playing surface will be raised and an athletics track constructed, reducing the capacity to 44
Firhill and/or Fir Park for Q2 and Q3.
To the benefit of Celtic ? lets hope Peter can bring real change especially with refereeing
Peter Lawwell appointed to Scottish FA Board
Tuesday, 03 September 2013
Following its meeting at Hampden Park, the Professional Game Board has nominated Peter Lawwell, Chief Executive of Celtic Football Club, as their representative on the main Board of the Scottish FA.
Peter joins the four Scottish FA office bearers, Chief Executive Stewart Regan, President Campbell Ogilvie, Vice-President Alan McRae, and Second Vice-President Rod Petrie, on the Board along with Barrie Jackson, the Independent Non-Executive Director.
Peter Lawwell commented: “Clearly I am pleased to accept this nomination. Whilst there are certain challenges facing the game in Scotland, there is also a great deal to be positive about and much to look forward to.
“We must build on these positives and along with other Board members I look forward to playing my part in working to improve and develop various aspects of the game, for the benefit of Scottish football as a whole”.
The Non-Professional Game Board will make their nomination at the next meeting.
The Professional Game Board is comprised of:
Stewart Regan
Campbell Ogilvie
Alan McRae
Rod Petrie
Neil Doncaster
Peter Lawwell
Dr Andrew Waddell
Sandy Stables
Michael Johnston
Bill Darroch
Duncan Fraser
Why don’t we stick with tradition and play next year’s home qualifiers at Old Trafford?
Top of the morning to you all on a pleasant morning in Fife.
BMCUWP, the end passage is good, but I didn’t like this bit: “unlike its illustrious Glaswegian namesake, the original Swindon Rangers has long since vanished”
I think there is a “u” that shouldn’t be there and “illustrious” they say?
Thanks for the replies bhoys , will be interesting to see how the club approach this problem .
Midweek Champions League qualifiers will cause sections of the support a big problem .
What sort of problem? Edinburgh is only 50 miled away.
Morning,
How can Paul Murray be on the Sevco board when he was there when rangers liquidated. Is there no fit and proper rules?
As for former chairman John McClelland being reappointed to his old role. lol!
tom mclaughlin.
So it’s free to travel to Edinburgh is it Tom ?
Some people also work and might not be able to make it to Edinburgh after work whereas they could make the game if it was at Celtic Park .
What about parents who take their kids to these games – school in the morning ?
How’s that for starters Tom ?
Murrayfield?
ha – I planned for this 15 years ago when I started working in Edinburgh, it’s 5 minutes from my work.
You were all laughing at me then, who’s laughing now…?
FGF 07.42
My goodness the inconvenience. 2 games are moved once in 20 years and the consumers are moaning!
Morning Celts,
Anybody any spare tickets for the Ajax away game?
If ye dont ask ye dont get CSC
V
Hooops
I need three
V
Fourgreenfields –
Ok so what are you saying? We withdraw from the competition? We seem to have no alternative but to go to Murrayfield, so what else do you suggest? As there is not much choice, why complain about travel and time problems?
Play them at the Aviva in Dublin , gives our Bhoys over there a break and gets us more exposure against the EPL brainwashing .
Oh and could you imagine the Sevconians anger .
Morning Bhoys .
Apologies for turning CQN into Celtic food news but a wee message for Teuchter…….
Had Cass tatties last night, chipped Maris Pipers , with a lovely piece of fish from Albert’s van, breaded and fried, accompanied by mixed salad and coleslaw.
Absolutely fantastic!!
You’ll never eat alone !
jude2005 is neil lennon \o/
23:06 on 3 September, 2013
67H
When whers that on??
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sky…..Sony movies…..watched it last night……… Should be available on ‘On Demand’ ?
Acoustamatix 00.27.
Ive no more to add to that . Nail hit on head .
Strange that Poundland wasn’t mentioned as an alternative venue in the Scotsman article? Probably as it doesn’t meet Scottish safety criteria,never mknd Europe.
Fergus had a wee problem with the beaks when we were at Hampden…..mmmmmmm
citibhoy shoulder to shoulder with neil lennon
tom mclaughlin
We don’t even know if the games are going to Murrayfield yet , Tom suggested it wouldn’t cause a problem , I was merely pointing out that it could cause some of our supporters problems .
As for the pulling out of the competition jibe , not worth a comment .
ohits Go Oscar totally agree great idea
Bada Bing Poundland is being used for rugby 7s,
Where would the players most like to play?
!!bada bing!
a huddle and it would collapse..lol
i see sevco bringing teo ex directors back now that the debt has been dumped..a pheonix if ever i saw one!hh
Fourgreenfields –
You were highlighting problems about having to play at Murrayfield. I simply asked what is the alternative and said it was only 50 miles not 500.
tom mclaughlin
I don’t know what the alternative is , but going to Murrayfield will cause some people hassle , maybe even missing the games . That was all I was saying .
Anyway , its all about opinions .
It’s good to have a club to talk about .
Hail Hail
burghbhoy
08:05 on 4 September, 2013
Albert told me someone had taken a chunk out of his van last night……..
Morning all. The big shiny yellow thingy up in the sky is doing its best to put in an appearance. Not being too successful.
What’s the latest shuffling of the deckchairs down in Govan all about? Who’s winning?
If the three Glasgow stadiums are unavailable for CL Q2 & Q3 next season then Murrayfield is the only alternative. Now where else is big enough.
Celtic have a solution in their own hands regarding next years qualifiers for Champions League.
Win this years competition.
They wouldn’t need to go into the Qualifiers next year.
asonofdan
07:36 on 4 September, 2013
Who needs rules and laws in Scotland eh especially when Sevco are involved.
Wasn’t aware about the need to move from Celtic Park. I thought the Ground was only being used for the Opening Ceremony. Anyway, can’t say I fancy travelling to Murrayfield to watch us, even if it may be necessary.
Sun has given up the fight, by the way. Rain is imminent.
Fourgreenfields –
Well said mate.
oldtim67 –
Superb :-)
.
Jeezo I’M Off Oot All day and the Blog is in Chaos..
Celtic will NOT have to Qualify next Year as Scotland is the Host Nation..
I wonder about You lot at Times..
But don’t Fear Summas Here..
Oh and Ps.. It’s El Scorchio Down-Under..
Summa of TapsAffTuesdayCSC
Murrayfield?
Imagine the Karagandy game had been at Murrayfield and then imagine playing at 6pm on a Thursday in the Europa.
Not good, I`d prefer Motherwell.:-)
Let’s clear up a couple of small matters.
First up: Paul Murray and John McClelland will not be “returning to Rangers” as widely reported this morning.
Murray and McClelland were directors of the SFA member club The Rangers Football Club plc, referred to as such in the 5 Way Agreement and as Rangers FC.
Rangers Football Club plc is consigned to be dissolved after the sterling efforts of Murray and McClelland during their long years as directors. It’s membership of the SFA was cancelled, and subsequently transferred to a new company called Sevco Scotland Ltd.
Sevco Scotland Ltd, since renamed The Rangers Football Club Ltd, and subsequently absorbed into Rangers International plc, now trades as Rangers FC, an entirely different, distinct and unrelated entity to the club that had held SFA membership since the 19th century.
The company died. The club folded. It’s membership of the SFA and its licence to play professional football were forfeited.
There can be no return.
Secondly, and perhaps of more forward looking importance, is the status of John McClelland.
During the period February 2003 to September 2005, McClelland held the parallel roles of Director (and Chairman) of Rangers FC plc, and Director of the Scottish Premier League Ltd.
During that time, under his direction, Rangers accelerated the use of hidden EBT payments to footballers and other staff members, including himself. This was subsequently subject to an SPL commission of inquiry which found that Rangers had broken the rules on player registration and disclosure on an industrial scale, resulting in a world record fine for the company of which he was Chairman.
The disgrace is compounded by the fact that during this time he was a Director of the SPL, and knowingly and deliberately concealed from his fellow Directors material information that resulted in the SPL’s competition being corrupted.
Far from being fit and proper to run a football club, John McClelland is a pariah in any civil society, having at once responsibility for upholding the constitution of the SPL and the integrity of its competition, and simultaneously acting to rig the Game in favour of his own team.
I’m quite sure his fellow board nominee Sandy Easdale greatly respects a man who can pull such a fraud on an entire game and stay out jail.