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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John oneil. So you are saying Celtic fans do not have the right to question what is going on during this shambolic pre season
Just asking like :))
We can’t question how much of the vic money that Neil gets and why players are not being brought in
Why our only goalscorer could be of ski and we have not signed a new one
So you saying we just accept this shambles then
Just asking like :)))
Chairbhoy, i’d be happy to keep hooper, but is he happy to stay, was he really injured last friday and is his attitude right?
If the answer is no then we need to ship him sooner than later. Interestingly when you look at Motherwell who have lost half a team they are quietly putting a team together. I think McManus & McFadden both scottish internationals is great business for them.
I am worried that we have become complacent, that there seems to be a disjoin at the club between manager, pl & players.
In any good business you have scenario planning, what if this happens then a or b etc, does nl know his budget, is he being coy? Are the board going to bank the KI, vic & hooper cheques £23m+ and £31m from the CL (from my addition we will have nearly doubled turnover on the previous year). We were told that celtic budget for non participation in CL and that all transfer fees will be reinvested in the team so i hope with this excess of £54m+ and savings on wages that we are not having the wool pulled over our eyes!
blantyretim
Any updates on the leg?
RobinBhoy
Re Hooper.
He isn’t that good. We can debate this n’ that but a glance at the his scoring achievements is definitive. Remember his half-hearted performances ?
There are several strikers down south, in a similar price category, who would offer more graft and be rewarded with the glut of goals Hooper’s efforts fail to gain.
In short no great loss. The will he, or won’t he leave is damaging the club’s chances in the qualifiers.
Off to KDS.
Going to jubilee tomorrow RobinBhoy.
Does seem to be a lot better but still non weight bearing.
Hoping for progress. .
Auldheid
11:02 on
15 July, 2013
Ol Sidney Tim is either an agent provocatuer or playing the role of an agent provocatuer for his own entertainment.
Either that or he believes what he reads in the DR and nobody is that daft.
I can understand why you would think that. However ,I know Sydney Tim.
Fact is,he`s a good Tim.
Is there any other kind?:-)
LiviBhoy 10:50 on 15 July, 2013
You are right you don’t need the media to tell you anything. All you have to do is go back 12 months and remember that Celtic were in the exact same position as we are this morning.
What happened after idiots on here were demanding Neil Lennon should apologise to the fans that travelled to Amsterdam?
We won all our competitive matches and qualified for the Champions League. I don’t remember anyone bringing up the Ajax result when Benfica arrived at Celtic Park?
The current Celtic team should be judged in the competitive games, starting with Cliftonville. The jury is out until both legs have been played.
Pre-season results mean sod all.
TAURANGABHOY 0928
I’ll file that away for future reference when the left/right arguments come up!
For me,competence is now more important than ideology,and sadly as rare in these days of career politicos.
My thanks for the info.
Good morning from a sun drenched Playa Blanca. Lying back here contemplating the meaning and purpose of the pre-season madness on and off the pitch. Off this afternoon into
town to find a pub for Wednesday and off to PDC tonight to meet up with Kikinthenakas. Hoping it all clicks in place for Wednesday.
HH
CRC
CELTICROLLERCOASTER
How many pubs do you reckon you will have to sample before you find that particular one with the “just-right” ambience?
CRC sounds like you are enjoying your break, not at sunny here today. Glad you are getting the opportunity to log onto cqn to get any updates on the Zimmerman Verdict!!!
BMCW and MACJAY I am sure that we are very close in our political or more correctly non political view points. Truth is I would vote anyone who can give our teenagers and young ones jobs and look after our olds with dignity. Not much to ask but this World is a greedy one and some folk want it all. Anyway nice chatting with you, scratcher for me. HAil Hail. Keep the faith. Neil will have it well sorted by the time it mattere. The MSM haven’t a clue what Celtic are doing and that suits me fine. Night.
Sydney Tim….
I Share Your Concerns For Our Squad Over The Coming Season…..
And The Apparent Deficiencies In Our Coaching Abilities…
I Have Not Felt So Scunnered Since Bwana Barnes Briefly Wore The Purple..
And Dropped,Then Transferred Craig Burley….
Regardless His Transformation Into A Cretin Since He Became A Pundit….
He Was An Excellent And Influential Player ….
And Could Have Developed Into A ‘Frank Lampard’ Type Figure For Us….
Steinreignedsupreme
Fair points but with the exception of the Ajax match which was one game our results weren’t too worrying.
10/07
FC Augsburg
Friendly
18:00
A
0-0
15/07
Stuttgart Kickers
Friendly
17:15
A
0-1
17/07
Vfr Aalen
Friendly
18:00
A
2-1
21/07
Ajax
Friendly
18:00
A
0-4
24/07
Norwich City
Friendly
19:45
H
0-1
28/07
Inter Milan
Friendly
13:30
H
1-1
There were not too many goals conceded in other matches. I also think we were playing a better class of opposition. Are the German side that skelped us 6-2 an Ajax? I seriously doubt it.
I am clearly panicking slightly but that’s what I do. I want Celtic to do well in all games. I can appreciate there is some trial and error in some pre-season matches but surely the last one before we play a competitve match should be as near to the first team as possible?
I will reserve judgement until we have played a few more matches but I am slightly concerned about the number of goals lost and the lack of goals scored. I think that is reasonable. If you are not concerned even a little bit I find that incredible.
LB
Celticrollercoaster. Jealous mate. Sounds great
Big cup winner. I 100% agree. Just get on with it. Get hooper out and new guy in ASAP and stop fiddling about
.
macjay1 for Neil Lennon
11:05 on
Interestingly enough,it was the Labour govt. here who borrowed and spent to ” avoid the G.F.C.”, running up major debt in the process.The A dollar has dropped 15 to 20% in the last month.
Wonder why.
MacJay..
The AUD Has Dropped 9.0909% in the Last Month..Trust me l Know..:-)
Funny enough it is Either the No9 Enigma X3.. or Upside Down the Number of the Tassie Devil..;-(
Summa of IHaveAThingForNumbersCSC
Singing detective. Agree with u over burley
I can remember sitting at the Death Star against the deid club and the only player pushing our team forward and clapping his hands was burley
He still feels bitter for being pumped out the the door. But think it might have been that he was pumping where he shouldn’t have been :)
Good morning to all,
Just back home and reading back.
Slightly surprised at the negativity of some posts.
While we must acknowledge that the pre season tour of Germany was disappointing from a results perspective, I do not think that it means that much. Results in pre season friendly games are notorious for unusual meaningless stastistics. It is about team building and bonding.If fans want to travel and pay, then this is what they should expect.
Gary Hooper : A good striker but never a great striker or even close to it. IMO his attitude has not been correct and his focus seemed elsewhere. Take as much money as possible and move on.I am sure a contingency plan is in place.
The unrealistic expectations of achievements while playing in Scottish football should be addressed. We will never encourage more people to CP for league games by the competitive standard of football alone. Additional avenues ie Wi Fi, bars, the triangle etc are being utilised and must be encouraged ( Even if it diverts funds from the team ) Going to CP can be a full day, family experience if required.
Finally for now, this is the close season ( until Wednesday ) it is to be expected that non football topics will dominate the blog. CQN is a broad church and reflects all opinion of society. While some posters views may be unpallatable to the majority, providing no defined lines are crossed then so be it.
HH, Always in Celtic.
.
Auldheid
11:02 on
15 July, 2013
Ol Sidney Tim is either an agent provocatuer or playing the role of an agent provocatuer for his own entertainment.
Either that or he believes what he reads in the DR and nobody is that daft.
..
Auldheid..
Ole SydneyTim..Might be a Heartless Tim but His Heid is in the Right Place..;-(
Summa of ILoveSydneyGrimCSC
ERNIE LYNCH
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O2WKoN8K6nI&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DO2WKoN8K6nI
Summi. Yea saw the dollar crashing. Whits that all Abbooot
Think old Rudd might win it now. So now more cutting promised by Abbott so people pulling oot dollar Means your Beers at next Cqn’rs golf day will be more expensive lol
CRC – glad to see that you’re spending plenty of time with that young family of yours! ;-)
Enjoy the break mate.
For all you who want rid of Hooper….who do you honestly think we’re going to get in to replace him? Be careful what you wish for!
T4
Auld Heidi even if I bought the daily planet, it would still say nae goalscorers nae midfield and nae defence
Cantpullwoolovereyescsc
LiviBhoy 11:21 on 15 July, 2013
“If you are not concerned even a little bit I find that incredible.”
I’m not stressed in the least about any of our pre-season results.
I don’t know if it’s an age thing or if I just prioritise stuff to get angry about – like the policies of the chancers running the country and how the population appear to be sleepwalking as some serious shit takes place.
Pre-season matches used to take up a couple of lines in a paper. Now every match appears to be televised live. As a result they have attained mythical importance.
They are no more than a kick-about. Let’s see what happens in the games with Cliftonville.
Summa 11.25
I may have the time scale wrong,but not long ago the A dollar was worth U.S.1 AND 9 cents.
It is now worth 90 cents.
The time scale doesn`t affect the point I was making.
Hang on,pal.You`re sounding like a capitalist. :-)
TTTT my Hamilton Lager lout
How are you today?
TAURANGABHOY 1121
Great post,seconded in its entirety
Sleep the sleep of the good.
SydneyTim
Totally agree , if they dont want to be there then get rid of them quickly and replace them .
No one is bigger than the club and if Gary Hooper or anyone else think they are moving on to greater things then more the fool them . They are all rich young men and have no ambition what so ever moving to these teams in England that are quoted to be after their services . If they need any confirmation they can call Chris Sutton or BBJ for advice.
HH
Anyone know if Paul67 is about ? I’m hoping to get Marrakesh Express’ contact details.
South of Tunis / DBBIA
Coasters/records.
The old vinyl records WERE actually multi functional as my wee story will bear testament to.
Many moons ago maw twisty excitedly opened a freshly delivered parcel and unveiled….our first ever record player. Beautiful piece of engineering. The “Dansette”. Twisty was quickly despatched to the “Music Box” in Bathgate, to buy 2 records. Any two. Given I had an elder brother and two younger brothers, it was pretty clear even at that stage that maw knew I was the one with an ear for music. This was later borne out as I am sure many of you on here will know that I was tipping Leo Sayer as one to watch even back then.
Anyhow, I returned with aforementioned records. Two aff, but the collection was now 3, because we had a Lulu single in the house which I won at the shows by using skill and guile to hook a duck as it bobbed past me at about 2 mph. Not only did I have an ear for music, my hand / eye coordination was awesome too.
Which two records did I buy? I won’t keep you in suspenders any longer. Manfred Mann’s Mighty Quinn and Love Affair’s Everlasting Love. (further proof if needed that I knew what was what without any need to read the NME)
By the time I returned, the family had sussed the engineering and operating complexity of the Dansette, and we were ready to go. I think we opened the windows to make sure the neighbours were aware that the twist family was moving up in the world. I mean, how would they know that in fact the Dansette was paid for courtesy of Embassy coupons. Remember them? 2 in a 10 pack, and the ones that were gold dust – 5 in a 20 pack.
Anyhow, records stacked (is 2 a stack?), and no detail overlooked. Speed setting? 45 RPM. We were not fools, though to be fair, the thing only had 3 speeds. 33 and a third, 45, and 78. Wasn’t too long before we worked out that 78rpm was actually used to make Pinky and Perky cover versions of any other record, but as I say, we were no fools. I often wonder how much those 2 Andy Goram lookalikes made from royalties?
As I said though, off we went, and Manfred dropped nicely, the arm comes up on it’s own, traverses across, and lands right on the end of the single. Perfect. As Manfred faded out, we watched in bewilderment as the arm rose again, traversed back to base, allowing both time for us to remove fluff from the stylus (that’s a technical term that I won’t bother trying to explain), AND, allowed time for Lulu to drop on top of Manfred before the arm returned to play again.
What was this story about again? Oh aye, multi functional vinyl.
Aye. Maw twisty appeared with a pile of records, all on the label “his masters voice”, and all in their original covers. Our collection was bigger than we thought. She’d had these for many years, and the collection contained such cultural classics as Mantovani.
Soon after, my younger brother decided he could be the next Hank Marvin, maybe even Jimmy Hendrix, and got a guitar. His problem was that he was crap on the guitar, a reason I put down to him having no musical talent, but he had decided differently. He considered his failing was because he didn’t have any plectrums. So, when we were all out one day, my younger bro took those classical records outside, smashed them up, and made plectrums from them.
I often wonder what those records would fetch from a collector. Quite a lot I bet. Anyhow, vinyl records can also make very nice, if a tad expensive, plectrums!!
SOAL – good mate, just going through the Ayr card….again! Great day out on Saturday in fine company.
NAFOS get away ok?
T4
paolosboots @ 11:07,
“… i’d be happy to keep hooper, but is he happy to stay, was he really injured last friday and is his attitude right? … We were told that celtic budget for non participation in CL and that all transfer fees will be reinvested in the team so i hope with this excess of £54m+ and savings on wages that we are not having the wool pulled over our eyes!”
Now why isn’t Hooper playing…?
His injury is that severe
Celtic are finalising his transfer and don’t want to risk playing him
or
Hooper wants away and won’t play again for Celtic.
Well we can speculate, what I would say is that if we are going into a CL qualifier very low on fire power and our main Striker is not playing for any other reason than a debilitating injury then something is seriously amiss – we are still paying his wages.
And I totally agree on re-investment.
Fiscal prudence is all very well and good but you are right, we have always been promised any available monies will be SPENT on the Team.
I can’t speak for your figures but there is undoubtedly access that definitely needs to be invested in Quality Footballers.
Hail! Hail!
TTTT
Nafos has arrived in Portugal and will be checking the cheap boozers for my arrival next week
Amor
tommytwiststommyturns
I expect you and the rest of The Hamilton Six to pay for him outa yer winnings.
Once you find out where yer respective women have stashed yer wallets!
Delighted to see the bookies getting a clobbering. Some short-proves in which to go on heavy,but 16-1 and 8-1?
Magnifico……
ttt I understood that it was Hooper who wants to go. Is this wrong. His contract has one year to run. Don’t think too many want him to go most are just realistic about the chances that he wants to stay. Personally would love hoopermhan to stay but the choice is his and his alone. Let’s reward the ones who want to play in the hoops and farewell those who don’t know better.
Proves,prices,wtf?
Steinreignedsupreme
It would appear that I am in the minority. I believe positive results in all games have a positive impact on the team. I hope we are indeed ready and if that is the case this season then I stand corrected.
Cliftonville are a big test for the Bhoys to gauge where they are for the start of the season. I will look on with great interest to see what stage we are at. Hopefully Celtic will get a very positive result. I’m looking for a clean sheet and at least 2 goals.
LB