McCann, for every tenner, WH Ireland

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I know many of us are annoyed that a Celtic player, who didn’t appeal for a foul, is not being charged for inappropriately looking for one, is headline news today.  This is all a consequence of Sky Sports pundit Neil McCann’s insistence that John Guidetti cheated, while he simultaneously acknowledged Guidetti didn’t actually claim for a penalty.

TV analysis can enrich viewers’ appreciation of the game, but it has to carry a degree of responsibility too.

Those of us from Scotland will be familiar with the summertime noise of a scramble – pennies dropping all around you.  It’s a wedding-day tradition, when the father of the bride throws coins into the street for kids to collect as he and the bride leave for the ceremony.

Today’s story in the Record, lifted from a fans’ group, that newco Rangers receive approximately 75p for every £10 spent with Rangers Retail, the joint-venture between the football club and Mike Ashley, must have had pennies dropping everywhere.

These figures are for last season, so predate whatever new arrangement Ashley was able to negotiate for the return of stadium naming rights.  We’ve covered this point before, but it’s worth reiterating:

Football clubs are in fact a series of business units.  Few make a profit over any business cycle but there are profitable business units inside every club, including retail, trackside advertising, media rights and kit deals.

Football operations almost always lose money.  The considerable cost of operating a stadium, recruiting and employing footballers (and occasionally a manager on an onerous contract) isn’t met by ticket sales, even at community football level.

The club accounts detail how much financial control Ashley has over newco’s profitable revenue streams, from retail, to kit supply to trackside advertising.  The true consequences of forming the with investors looking for a financial return, as newco did in 2012, should now be apparent.

If the club has a future it will have to survive pretty much on ticket sales alone.  As we’ve covered before, when you need to pay circa £17m p.a. to open the doors at a club which will occasionally house 50,000 spectators, and your gate receipts and hospitality sales totalled £12.3m last season, you have a chronic problem.

Even if ticket sales doubled in value, there would still leave only around £7m to pay for football operations, a figure the likes of Kilmarnock can survive on, but you have to wonder if a ‘Rangers’ brand is viable at that level?

Does this sound like a viable football club to you? If so, let’s see how it looks after Ashley has his pound of flesh for financing the second half of the season. No wonder fans are so keen to stop him.

I see newco have appointed WH Ireland as their nominated advisers, a name you may be familiar with.  Back in May 2012, Kitalba, with an astonishing degree of understatement (“It couldn’t be clearer”), noted here in the comments section the breadcrumb trail between Craig Whyte, a whole series of his companies and associates, and the aforementioned WH Ireland.  It’s worth a 15 minute read.

It’s the big Glasgow derby tomorrow and Celtic sponsor Magners have offered us two premium seats in the Jock Stein Stand.  All you need to do to win the seats is to email me the name of our opponents, at celticquicknews@gmail.com

Competition closes at 22:00 tonight, so check your email thereafter.  Tickets can be collected from the ticket office before the game.

Planning is underway for Mary’s Meals to build a kitchen Chibwata Primary School, Dowa, Malawi, which we in the CQN community have committed to paying for.  We have already built three school kitchens in Malawi this year, so I am sure we will complete this one sometime over the coming months.

If at the same time you entered the Magners’ competition, you wanted to donate £1 (or more) to the Mary’s Meals appeal, you can do so here.

Sorry, the MyDonate page is now open for business!!

Many thanks.

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629 Comments

  1. cowiebhoy

     

     

    Re Puma – No

     

     

    Puma SE

     

    Company

     

    Puma SE is a major German multinational company that produces athletic and casual footwear, as well as sportswear, headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. Wikipedia

     

    Stock price: PUM (XETRA) €182.90 -1.20 (-0.65%)

     

    2 Dec 5:35 pm GMT+1 – Disclaimer

     

    Founded: 1924, Herzogenaurach, Germany

     

    Headquarters: Herzogenaurach, Germany, Germany

     

    Founders: Adolf Dassler, Rudolf Hassler

     

     

    HH

  2. Craigellachie10 on

    DBB

     

     

    I once played football at Beeswing against the local team, a wee pitch behind the school if I remember correctly.

     

     

    Also the name of a famous racehorse – Derby winner ?

  3. BIG-CUP-WINNERS on

    Watch a reasonable amount of pro youth football. Thems are one of the few who rely a lot on brawn and hoof the ball. Not always but noticeably enough, even at under 13 and 14.

     

     

    Movement is another deficit.

  4. craigellachie10

     

     

    22:59 on 2 December, 2014

     

     

    DBB

     

     

    I once played football at Beeswing against the local team, a wee pitch behind the school if I remember correctly.

     

     

    Also the name of a famous racehorse – Derby winner ?

     

     

    No that was Dunfermline mate. ;)

  5. thomthethim for Oscar OK on

    TET @22.54

     

     

    That’s what I like about you.

     

     

    You have life sussed and can see through the BS and the fantasies.

     

     

    Skype and Whatsapp is the way to go.

     

     

    Youth and middle age are wasted on the young and middle aged!

  6. Dontbrattbakkinanger on

    Craigellachie- news to me but the village changed its name, from Lochend to Beeswing, after the horse, sadly, not the R.Thompson tribute to Anne Briggs.

  7. Craigellachie10 on

    From Wiki, my curiosity was piqued, not a derby winner but a good horse,

     

     

    Racing career

     

     

    Beeswing raced at many venues between 1835 and 1842 and was a real crowd favourite. Entering 63 events, she won an incredible 51 times. Of the 57 races she finished, she was placed lower than second on only one occasion. Her most notable victory was the 1842 Ascot Gold Cup. She won the Newcastle Cup an amazing six times. Beeswing won the Doncaster Cup for the fourth time and was retired afterwards.[1]

     

     

    James Hill of Tyneside composed a hornpipe, “The Beeswing,” named after her.[2] Such was her fame that the Scottish village of Lochend, Dumfries and Galloway changed its name to Beeswing in her honour.

  8. Big Georges Fan Club - Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar on

    Sipsini

     

     

    How about:

     

     

    Oh Hampden in the rain,

     

    Celtic 7 & RANGERS ARE DEID – HA, HA, HA, HA, HA – GIRFUT :-)))))

     

     

    Lovely melody to that, I think.

     

     

    HH

     

    BGFC

  9. Big Georges Fan Club - Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar on

    big-cup-winners

     

     

    23:18 on 2 December, 2014

     

    Right a wee quick question:

     

     

    Have they suffered enough ?

     

    ———–

     

     

    Nope

     

     

    HH

     

    BGFC

  10. big-cup-winners

     

     

    23:18 on 2 December, 2014

     

    Right a wee quick question:

     

     

    Have they suffered enough ?

     

     

    —-

     

    Wee quick answer – GTF!

     

     

    ;-)

     

     

    HH jamesgang

  11. Marrakesh Express on

    McCann kicked off again up the tunnel at Stranraer on Saturday…fact.

     

    So that was two rushes of blood the honest and dignified tv expert pundit had in the space of a minute.

  12. ‘The financially challenged Championship challengers are currently keeping the lights on only by dint of the loans supplied by influential shareholder Mike Ashley’

     

    Another wee gem from the Telegraph article :)

  13. Marrakesh Express on

    Tinfoil ‘we’re all behind Charles’ Heid has to be second only to McCoist when it comes backing losers.

     

    I love it when he’s on the telly.

  14. Alasdair MacLean on

    Copied and pasted to save time…..

     

     

    Eric the Viking was explaining to his blind mother, that he was going on a the next raid on England. They intended raping and pillaging York and if all went well, Sheffield.

     

    Eric’s mother had heard of the steel they made in Sheffield and made her son promise if they got there, she wanted a stainless steel sink for the hovel they lived in.

     

    The Vikings easily dealt with York, as several previous raids had weakened any resistance. They marched on Sheffield, but the resistance was much heavier and it took three weeks before they finally entered the city and another 2 weeks before they finally won the battle.

     

    Daghold, the Viking leader, told his army to take whatever they wanted and to head back to their ship.

     

    Eric looked around in vain for a sink for his mother, but was unable to find one.walking across a building site all he could find was a steel hod, used for carrying mud bricks, he grabbed it and headed out.

     

    When he arrived home he was confronted by his blind mother wanting to know if he had got her sink. He told her of course he did and handed her the hod.

     

    She was thrilled with the hod.

     

     

    Which goes to show………….A hod’s as good as a sink to a blind Norse.

  15. BCW

     

     

    Had they suffered in the slightest, I would say no, but as they have not suffered at all.

     

     

    I pray they die a death that is befitting to a club that dine out on dignity.

     

     

    A club that has the powers in their pocket, a club that think nothing of cheating to win, a club that break all the rules to their own end, a club that cheat the tax mam-man, a club that take others out on a boat trip, a club that…..feck it, you understand what dignity is all about, and it ain’t them.

     

     

    I hope the scummy bastards die as slow a death that is humanly, or zombishly possible.

     

     

    HH

  16. ME

     

     

    We as a club, need to nail this convert to the Dark side McCann. He has an agenda, though Tanner pulls his strings, and feeds him loaded questions. It is getting sinister.

  17. DD/big georges fan club – hail, hail, wee oscar

     

     

    Oh Hampden in the fog, the huns are drowning in a bog,

     

    We can all laugh and cheer, knowing that a pound was too dear!

     

     

    Night all. HH

  18. Drat ONLY 6-1!

     

     

    Well done the Young Lhads – hit the post and had a good penalty claim turned down (could’ve been magic).

     

     

    Nice to see Broonie attending – front & centre (CFC Captain material).

     

     

    Glass raised!!

  19. Big Georges Fan Club - Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar on

    TET – you are too generous to them.

     

     

    Although I know they are dead already – I think what we are actually wishing for is for them to have the realisation, and associated pain (well, really the pain, to be honest) of knowing that they are really, really, indisputably, unable to resurect, completely and utterly dead forevermore.

     

     

    Well, that’s what I want, anyway.

     

     

    HH

     

    BGFC

  20. Craigellachie10 on

    Definitely not suffered enough, they need to get the petrofac cup on their CV first. It will be on their record for as long as they exist.

  21. Great scrolling through all those pictures of Jinky. Many I had not seen before.

     

     

    Who is your favourite other team son ? “Celtic Reserves”. What a guy. Always be top Celt for me

  22. BIG-CUP-WINNERS on

    TET

     

     

    But that’s their torment mate. To lie and cheat, they live a lie and know that anything they have achieved is hollow.

     

    That’s why they hate us so much. Our success, despite everything, gnaws at them, shamed and killed them.

     

     

    Best of all is the cretins didn’t learn and look like replicating the full cycle of the old club.

     

     

    IT’S GREAT BEING A TIM.

  23. tim malone will tell

     

     

    22:19 on 2 December, 2014

     

     

    If they don’t there’s always next year HH

  24. delaneys dunky

     

     

    23:36 on 2 December, 2014

     

     

     

     

    Be surprised if the club do anything.

     

     

    When was last time they publicly spoke out in support of fans players when being attacked by media or police ?

     

     

    Nevin, mccann etc all know this and its exactly why they do what they do.

  25. The Good Ship Celtica on

    Big George’s Fan Club,

     

     

    They know already. They think they are showing us their ‘no surrender’ attitude when it comes to Sevco.

     

     

    They are painfully aware their club is dead.

     

     

    TGSC,

     

    Sailing On….

  26. A Ceiler Gonof Rust on

    TET, I thought it wiz the thick walls of the cave. A fiver, FFS dude:-)

     

     

    Trust all is well with you and the lovely author? Whar’s ma books?

     

     

    HH bruv

  27. Big Georges Fan Club – Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar

     

     

    Tis a strange state of affairs so it is, we all want them dead and gone, and most of us deep down know it won’t happen, but we are well enjoying their misery, jeezo, just imagine being in their shoes, I know, it could happen, they are trying their dambdest to make it happen, but we are still sticking the finger up at them.

     

     

    They can do their worst, we can take it.

     

     

    I am getting old, my time on this planet is short lived, I have seen something that I honestly never thot possible, THE DEATH OF THE HUN, and I glory in it, it ranks with getting my first hump, getting married { don’t tell the wife that } etc, etc

     

     

    Their cumupance will be orgasmick >}

     

     

    HH

  28. Some great photos of The Wee Man there!!

     

     

    Didn’t know that an Indian Curry was Jinky’s favourite food. Would have had him down as a scampi and chips man myself!!

     

     

    HH

  29. Talk of a Huns fire sale, in all honesty they would only get cash for Wallace and McLeod and it would be more than £1.5m for both, so not so much a fire sale more like a dud match sale HH

  30. BCW,

     

     

    That’s why they hate us so much. Our success, despite everything, gnaws at them, shamed and killed them.

     

     

    _____________

     

     

    Perfect way to describe the way them feel…doft cap to you my mhan. HH

  31. BIG-CUP-WINNERS on

    TET

     

     

    It’s strange in Glasgow just now. They never talk about football, not at work, nowhere. That’s maybe just my experience, but I haven’t had a conversation with one of them about football in over a year, maybe more.