McCann, for every tenner, WH Ireland

629

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.

Click Here for Comments >
Share.

About Author

629 Comments
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 6
  5. 7
  6. 8
  7. 9
  8. 10
  9. 11
  10. 12
  11. ...
  12. 17

  1. mike in toronto on

    I thought (I could be mistaken) that legislation in Scotland required that a newco could not be called something that would mislead someone into thinking that they were the same company, and hence, Sevco were called “THE Rangers” to distinguish them from the now defunct team.

     

     

    If that is the case, then, at a minimum, Celtic should always have “The” whenever we refer to them, to distinguish them from the deceased club.

  2. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Aulheid

     

    keep politics out of football

     

     

    oops too late…8))

  3. Greeninbingley

     

     

    Of course it’d be nice, but you know as well as I do it won’t happen. The focus for me is that they called it a Glasgow derby, which is a good thing, a step in the direction.

  4. overseasbhoy (not Mexico) on

    when will we start to see some of the 6-1 heroes in the first team ? or were they just playing a rubbish team today

  5. Delaneys Dunky on

    Jude

     

     

    It makes me think on why guys like you, and friends and family have gave up the punting. My mammy calls it Satan’s game! :)

  6. Greeninbingley

     

    whyte had Sevco5088

     

    Big haunds and Ahmed shafted him (ALLEGEDLY) when changing it to Sevco Scotland then on to THE Rangers International football club 2012 (I think)

     

     

    Ps the zombies were that ashemed of murray they wanted it changed to Achenhowie not to help him but to humiliate him that will do for me, though I often “sit here thinkin” Charlie Nicholas style which lucky zombie Season ticket holder won the right to rename Murray park that big haunds promised:))))

     

    May only good things come your way

     

    goodnight all

     

    PromiseCSC

  7. bournesouprecipe

     

     

    20:20 on 2 December, 2014

     

    Hitler Youth 1 Celtic Youth 6

     

     

    __________

     

     

    I’ll be using that tomorrow, hope you don’t mind :))

  8. mike

     

     

    21:44 on 2 December, 2014

     

     

    you are on the mark, would it not be considered trading on the ‘goodwill’ ha ! of the previous defunct company and what it entailed maybe not abad thing here though….

  9. Delaneys Dunky on

    Leftclick

     

     

    It was Farmer Auchenhowie fae Milngavie that won the raffle, coincidentally. ;)))

  10. Melbourne Mick on

    Hi bhoys n ghirls

     

    Still hoping for an answer from some of you more enlightened

     

    Celts about the pair of white football boots presented to wee

     

    Jimmy Johnston in his heyday and Big Jock would not let him

     

    wear them, is it just a myth? anybody.

     

    H.H Mick

  11. Ewing Grahame in the Telegraph @ 8:14 pm telling it how it is – lol

     

     

    Rangers announced last week that the club had made an operating loss of £8.3  million (believed to be a world record for a third-tier club) …

     

     

    Pitchforks and torches at the ready ……

  12. mike in toronto on

    the exiled tim

     

     

    I was referring to Lymmbhoy’s post @21:34 … it is quite long so I haven’t cut and pasted.

     

     

    It is Jim the Tim (from KDS) that has taken quite ill.

  13. Melbourne Mick

     

     

    Not sure about Jock banning Jimmy from wearing them during games.

     

    ( before my time!)

     

    But I have definetely seen a picture of Jimmy wearing them with full kit on.

     

    He was posing for a photo and I’m certain they were white Hummells

  14. have just logged back on saw mike in toronto

     

    21:58 on

     

    2 December, 2014

     

    thoughts and prayers to Jim the Tim and his family

     

     

    HH

  15. !!Bada Bing!!

     

    22:04 on

     

    2 December, 2014

     

    VP-I am :)

     

    —————–

     

    Me too…what a road (rode) trip.

  16. delaneys dunky

     

     

    20:59 on 2 December, 2014

     

    Good result for the Development squad tonight. Think the scoreline will be similar in the League Cup Semi Final.

     

     

    _________

     

     

    Nope, seven DD.

  17. Dontbrattbakkinanger on

    Are the huns still enjoying the journey?

     

     

    -they’re certainly gettin’ full value for their 75 pence.

  18. Bada

     

     

    In that link you posted was this gem of a sentence.

     

     

    Rangers announced last week that the club had made an operating loss of £8.3  million (believed to be a world record for a third-tier club)

     

     

    HH

  19. Tim Malone Will Tell on

    !!Bada Bing!!

     

    22:08 on

     

    2 December, 2014

     

    Rangers manager Ally McCoist braced for fire-sale – Telegraph http://t.co/nHCsxQbKk9 great news can’t wait

     

     

    —————————————————————————————————————–

     

     

    Ole Super Salary describing the prospect of winning the Petrofac Cup at the third time of asking as “the dream ticket”.

     

    The guy is just an embarassment….absolutey and honestly…

  20. Craigellachie10 on

    !!bada bing!!

     

     

    22:08 on 2 December, 2014

     

     

    Surely shome mishtake, last week Swally was scouting new signings all over England and the war chest was being readied. Next you’ll be telling me not to trust what I read in the record.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 6
  5. 7
  6. 8
  7. 9
  8. 10
  9. 11
  10. 12
  11. ...
  12. 17