This week’s Economist has a most curious article on the football business, entitled “Welcome to the beautiful game. Football clubs can easily be used as stealing machines. Here is an instruction manual. The stories are real, but most details are concealed”.
They assert, “It is a good time to enter the football racket. Banks are less generous and sentimental about loans. Tax officials are less lenient, too, as Rangers, a big Glasgow club, discovered”.
“Set up a holding company (or a nest of them) in a discreet jurisdiction, as many owners do, and you have a money-laundering and embezzlement machine at your disposal.
“Exaggerating the attendance at matches lets you run some of the dirty takings from your previous career through the turnstiles, turning them into legitimate income (this particular ruse works best if you buy a middling club, where games are not routinely sold out).”
They conclude, “Some national associations do a spot of due diligence on new owners, but this is unlikely to interfere with your plans.”
Brazil, Balkans, Russia, Serbia and Bulgaria all get a mention but there was only the one club got a name check.
Nest of holding companies in discreet jurisdictions, money-laundering, embezzlement, exaggerated attendances, dirty previous businesses!! Read it and weep, football fans, just don’t expect the blazers to watch out for your best interests.
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ok lets stick to Celtic.
My vision of Celtic is to have someone represent the club over and above
Shop windowing EPL fodder
Nice turnover
last 16 in Europe if yer lucky
Wait and see what the huns are daein?
New Firm is not for me. If Celtic ever play those cnts again Im aff oot.
question re Lennoxtown-It is a good training base for the first team ,but is it worth the expense of youth teams if we are not producing players for the first team?We could buy a player for what it costs to run and maintain.Like most bhoys i love seeing a homegrown player holding down a jersey but the current model is not producing IMO
Shameless re-post.
Jackie mac
Use the F word on here, or similar profanities and you are quite rightly deleted. I would argue that some other material printed on here is every bit as bad, or worse, yet seems to go unpunished.
Some comment is considered, again correctly, to be unsuitable for children of a certain age. Should that not apply to more than just profanity?
Paul’s house, Paul’s rules I guess, but it does make me scratch my head at times.
bazzabhoy…
I should have added “…for the Champions League, and we’ll get drawn to play Celtic”.
But I think you had already worked out that that was my angle.
HT et al- be very careful over by.HH
DIL DOOK ING
Germanys foremost Halloween Apple Games seller ?
Check out this video on YouTube:..
http://youtu.be/WIOiVHnM9Jc
The simple answer is that our youth team is a waste of money.
Our manager isn’t willing to try young players, they are either not good enough or the manager can’t spot talent.
twists n turns
agree, you’re spot about swearing ! I slagged off the orange order earlier in the week ‘cos they are opposed to one faith in particular and then you get a blogger with a problem about a president’s faith – what’s the difference ? I don’t think Brother Walfrid brought a Catholic community together, I think he brought a community together and wasn’t bothered what you believed in. So, do you let people express themselves freely or focus on footie – tough call, glad I’m not making it but I don’t think it’s great for cqn.
Bada bing
We should not have teams at under 19/20s players at this age,that we think have potential,should be sent out on loan to lower leagues teams to learn their trade and toughen up.
Bada
Cheers mate I’m sure the RUC will do their utmost to protect us :-)
the_huddle
Irvine, Waters, Henderson, Rogic, Dylan, Millar, Atajic all played in pre season…
I have only visited the US once and had a nice time. But I was a tourist and I am white.
I have worked beside Americans here and I find a great number of them are racist, ignorant of the world outside their own wee bubble, and completely devoid of a sense of humour.
In fact, just like a number of our US based posters on here.
None of them will make it
Paul67 et al
Back in the day we would have been back at training for about a week by now. Now we have a European qualifier just a few days away. Preparation done in Germany. Not in favour of that approach, but have to say I was quite impressed with last half hour against FC Union, only to lose the type of goal, from an offset corner kick, that we are good at ourselves. Anyways Cliftonville awaits so that has to be the players’ focus now. Was it Bournesouprecipe who said Solitude is the only game in town?
the_huddle
Well we know if we don’t play them will we..
the_huddle
22:04 on 14 July, 2013
I heard from an excellent source that a Championship side were looking at signing Dylan. Lenny swiftly dismissed their interest as he sees the young man as part of his plans.
Excathedera44, agree on your analysis of the stand off between Peter Lawwell and Lenny. Lenny feels more attached to Hooper than any other player as he scouted him rather than John Park. It was his signing. It’s clear that Pedro has decide the best course of action is to sell , which explains why he would not offer Hooper a wage rise to match Brown and Ledley. Pedro runs Celtic and this has the feeling of a business decision rather than a football one.
I also went to the Union Berlin game. Standing having a beer watching the game was great. The number of German Celtic fans was greater than scots/Irish present . Their singing of left wing German songs seemed to go down well with the Union fans. The bans played in the Celtic end at half time. A few highland flings were started! It was a shame that Celtic were so poor on Friday as the German tic fans were let down big time. Maybe it’s because I was the 12th of July.
I was kidding about them not making it :O)
I thought Dylan was for the off on loan?
The Huddle
Don’t know about going out on loan but I’d suspect that only strengthens what I heard, that Lenny sees him as one for the future.
starry plough
22:03 on 14 July, 2013
the_huddle
Irvine, Waters, Henderson, Rogic, Dylan, Millar, Atajic all played in pre season…
How many will be given first team opportunities once the season begins? Other than Rogic (a signing, not a product of our youth system) you will comfortably be able count the total appearances of the rest on your fingers.
Any of the crew staying in Belfast city centre on Wednesday,whom are religious – there is a beautiful wee church in a street called Chapel Lane,just off Castle Street.It is a tranquil oasis in the midst of all the hustle and bustle.Well worth a visit.
http://www.stmarysbelfast.org/history6.htm
Hey Twisty
You had a good day at Hamilton I beleive
SP-i posted earlier that guys who haven’t broke into the first team have not made it elsewhere-cue my question -is Lennoxtown justifying the expense without producing players?HH
On one finger mores the pity.
Perfect time to forget expensive signings and promote from within even if it doesn’t work. Experiment
The_huddle 21.57
The manager has to win games.
If the youngsters would facilitate that , then he would play them.
TT
Gerrybhoy
I lived in wisconsin in 2002/3….. all white … mostly from scandinavian and germanic immigrants
Pretty racist to the native american … met a few with the scars to prove it.
No blacks in town… then one night two couples stopped at a local bar as they passed through town. Shocking attitude to them.
I had major words with friends. .. why am I welcome when im Scottish and those Americans aint
K33-Rogic at 400k looks a player to me,are we not better cherrypicking guys rather than flogging a dead horse.
Nah I don’t believe he would. We walked the league and will do it again this coming season yet he won’t play them.
Kayal33
How many folk on here would be having kittens if they were?
My answer was to the point Huddle made about the manager not giving the youth a chance.
As to how many will this season I don’t know but to say Neil doesn’t try the young team out is not really true is it..
gherrybhoy57
22:03 on 14 July, 2013
That was dead funny so it wiz.
Producing players out of Lennoxtown will take longer than you imagine,I reckon it will be 10/15 years from inception.Most managers will buy players rather than wait for the youth policy to pay dividends,for they know,more than likely,that they will be sacked before it bears fruit.
latchford
22:08 on 14 July, 2013
————————————-
You are spot on about the ratio of non-Celtic (hard “c”) Bhoys and Ghirls at the Union game. There was a small enclave of Irish Celtic fans standing in front of us but the guys beside us and behind us were Scandanavian, mostly Finnish and a couple of Swedes. You can always tell the Germanic Celtic fans because they are all into kilts and bagpipes.
!!Bada Bing!!
How long has Lennoxtown been in place and what is our time frame to measure it’s success, Rome wisnae built in a day an awe that!
Hx2
Hamiltontim–if you need a lift or anything else contact me at Raymac16@gmail.com.It‘s one of two I have so I’ll just remove it if attacked by any outsider.Same for others going to the match.Room for 4.
Lennny has a free card, he can’t lose
Stars
Hi D. Yeah, great night. I was following perratt, so her last winner was a good one for me. Had it at 12/1 and caught the forecast. Had the Channon winner too, so good night. All the bhoys did very well. Tttt was talking up the easterby winner, wish I’d listened! 16/1. How’s your own luck? I have a runner on 23 rd which is starting to look like a very interesting one. Will be in touch.
!!Bada Bing!!
22:19 on 14 July, 2013
Young players we sign get a chance, young players who come through our own youth system don’t. Matthews, Wanyama, Rogic, all signed aged 19-20 given first team opportunities almost straight away. Only James Forrest given same opportunities (a prolonged run of games not a game here and there or one off appearances) from our own youths over the last few years.
If our own players are not good enough then yes you are correct, why have a youth set up, cherry pick from others. But unless they are given a chance we will never know if they are good enough. We in a 4-5 year period where we have a perfect opportunity to see how good our youths are, but last season we didn’t.