Celtic’s accounts were later than usual last year, doubtlessly due to world events, but I expect them to be out this month. The year to 30 June 2021 will make grim reading, although the notes will record monies received and pledged for the subsequent sales of Kristofer Ajer, Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie. Celtic will recover from a remarkably difficult period solvent and in competitive shape.
As you don’t need me to remind you, this season’s title brings automatic entry to the Champions League group stage, with riches that can significantly influence domestic competitiveness. Last season’s title was about history, this season’s is about the future.
Solvent and competitive shape is a condition Newco also aspire to. Their last published accounts, to 30 June 2020, noted an eye-watering loss £17m. We will hear what their title win cost at some point this autumn, it is unlikely to be an improvement.
When they lost to Malmo, discrete comments were made that they needed to sell players, a feat that proved beyond them in the transfer window. Their recent pubic share issue was undersubscribed, although it will go some way towards repaying borrowings from former chairman, Dave King, due next month.
With season ticket money expired, they were forced to issue shares on 10 separate occasions between November last year and June. The club’s appetite to burn cash has not abated since. Uefa intend to tweak Financial Fair Play regulations, but they will remain and may become more onerous.
Clubs cannot lose money indefinitely, they eventually need to live within their means or face an insolvency event.
It does not matter how bare the bank account is, I suspect Newco will find the money to keep the lights on between now and their visit to Celtic Park on 2 January. They currently have a three-point advantage and will hope they can build a firm advantage in the title chase by then. If they do, they will find the money for another 10 share issues if necessary, in order to win the Champions League bounty.
If they leave Celtic Park with their league chances looking grim, how easy will it be to fund an enterprise that will forever lose money? We are approaching the 10th anniversary of when Rangers went into administration (14 February 2012). The weeks and months running up to that date were characterised by a circling of the wagons and firm denials of the problems ahead.
We covered Rangers finances on these pages at the time. We could not be sure how events would play out, but the facts were writ large, as they are now with Newco. It’s like an Ibrox echo.
What’s more important, a title for history or a title for the future? Right now it feels like history, but by the spring that will change.
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When I was growing up Mike Denness, who was Scottish and grew up in Belshill had just finished his playing career which included playing for England and even captaining them. I’d heard of him and even knew a bit about him as a player.
As Scotland didn’t have a representative side back then, I could quite happily hate the national football team while wanting to play for the cricket team.
Nobody cared then anyway but I’ve managed to keep up this cognitive dissonance to this day, despite years of friends and more recently my kids trying to tell me what a huge hypocrite I am.
!!BADA BING!! on 5TH SEPTEMBER 2021 9:35 PM
VP- the reason i like cricket, is as a wean,the only live sport on TV,was horse racing and cricket on the ole BBC ….the Sky coverage, and pundits is fantastic……ah know mate
____
No Mick McManus on a Saturday afternoon? 😉
Actually, I became a (temporary) fan of cricket during a week in a Scarborough B&B. 1974, during the world cup, aged 16, drinking half bottles of Eldo smuggled over the border.
Just watched highlights of women’s footie, Everton v Manchester City. I’m sure they’re probably in the elite bracket, but some of the City players were excellent.
Martin McGuinness speaks to Jeremy Paxman in 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STxiF_usMn4
B&B overlooked local cricket pitch (pitch?), I hasten to add.
Remembering Martin McGuinness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc1L_ajK3UA
The Original BBC Test Match Cricket. Vive Martin McGuinness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67xXbTaQlKI
Until The Last Spoffer……..an’ Beyond!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eYnY3-u-uE
PETEC@9:57
Thank you….loved it so did my wife.
Have heard it a number of times but never seen the video,
Along Comes Mary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URUd5RUAz1I
Gerry123 @ 11:05,
I’m not sure if I’m picking you up wrong – my kids are, like me, not Christian and they go to state school and get taught about religion – Christianity.
I can’t change the school curriculum so I don’t get bothered by it.
Well known SNP independence supporter, Kevin McKenna said this:
“At the heart of the Scottish Government and among the political elites lurk influential people who mean to do great harm to the practice of the Catholic faith in this country”
I have been say something similar for nearly two years on here and received constant abuse from the ‘usual suspects’.
If you vote for independence, this is what you will get, in ADDITION to 20 years of hardship in a bankrupt bigoted little country.
MH “they go to state school and get taught about religion – Christianity. I can’t change the school curriculum so I don’t get bothered by it.”
There’s a distinct moral ethos taught at Catholic schools based upon the tenets of the Catholic Church, Faith Hope and Charity. The greatest being the last and most important of all, “Charity”.
JHB, God bless England.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3uUGs8K1SE
M H @11-56
Sorry my mistake. If you don’t want your kids taking part in religion activities ( prayers etc )
you just tell the head.
Hamish Imlach at St Andrews Folk Club 16-3-75, Ave Ave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaJ3rMudu6I
Agere Contra Per Diametrum, Ave Ave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuumDuU6PLE
How did it get so late so early….the storey of me getting home from the Hoot ;-))
H.H.
I woke up walking streets I din’t know…1st people I seen….I asked if we were still in Glasgow….;-))
RufiesCSC
H.H.
So I put it together….I walked to Central Ststion…got on my train….and fell asleep….all without forming memories…damn….;-))
H.H.
🕳
❓
🛌🛌
Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour…even Keech Jackson is happy.😁
A wee bit o’ rain and they awe stay in bed. Whit ‘re youse like?
SIONNAIGH on 6TH SEPTEMBER 2021 12:09 AM
There’s a distinct moral ethos taught at Catholic schools based upon the tenets of the Catholic Church, Faith Hope and Charity. The greatest being the last and most important of all, “Charity”.
Well they didn’t do a very good job at the ones I went to – there is absolutely no difference in the levels of kindness and charity between my friends who went to Catholic and non denomination 👍🏼
Thanks Gerry123 – I wasn’t aware of that, not that I’d bother to remove them 👍🏼
Religion in schools. My two sons attended a big Catholic school in Edinburgh.
One day my son came home with a sponsorship form through which we were asked to pledge cash to a charitable fund. Upon closer inspection, the charitable fund appeared to be for the Pro-Life group.
My son told us the form was handed out by a nun in the school. He also told us that occasionally, if a pupil asks for a pencil, the nun would charge 10p which goes into the pro-life box. My wife and I were livid.
When the nun asked my son for his completed sponsorship form, he told her he would not be having anything to do with it. She called him an “evil boy”. He was 13.
Next day I went to the school and took it up with the headmaster. To our amazement, he knew nothing about this clandestine fund raising and promised to put a stop to it. He was incandescent with rage.
This was a case of one old harridan overstretching her powers, regularly telling boys and girls they would go to hell for talking in class, or in the case of one girl, for being sick after she refused to let her go to the toilet.
Happily,she didn’t last long in the school.
TOM MCLAUGHLIN on 6TH SEPTEMBER 2021 9:45 AM
Presumably neither your wife nor yourself were aware of the Catholic Church’s position on abortion before deciding to send your children to a Catholic school.
Morning all from a rain soaked Springburn (work)
Has everyone slept in?
D :)
ERNIE LYNCH on 6TH SEPTEMBER 2021 10:03 AM
That is a very narrow presumption.
EL @1003
Strange Comment.
Hail Hail
Stay Safe
Ernie
That is surely not the point. It is one thing having a stance on abortion. It is quite another “tricking” pupils and parents into financially supporting a cause.
But you already knew that. Your dishonesty is there for all to see. Explains a lot really.
Ernie smiling smugly over his cornflakes.
Genuinely one of the only lessons I learned at R.E. was Mr Burns (one of my favourite teachers at Holy Cross, Hamilton) telling us the value of getting the first punch in in a fight 😂
He told a story about him and his friend getting into an argument and him punching his friend first which stunned him. He then had the upper hand (cut?)…
As was often the case I never took the teacher’s advice, but it makes sense.
The BBC`s response to my E-mail on their selective use of `sectarianism` in an article about the Sevco fans racist chanting/singing:
“We were contacted by a number of audience members who were unhappy with our reporting of this story. To allow us to reply promptly, and use the licence fee efficiently, we’re sending this response to everyone. We’re sorry we can’t reply individually, but we hope this will address the main points raised.
We’re satisfied with the accuracy of the terminology used in this reporting.
The Police Scotland statement on the arrests and charges detailed that the behaviour they’re investigating was both anti-Irish and anti-Catholic, hence the use of “sectarian”, and the article includes several references to the fact the police are also investigating the “racist” nature of these offences.
Thanks again for getting in touch. Complaints are shared with news teams and senior management every morning via our overnight reports.
Kind regards,
BBC Complaints Team
WEEBOBBYCOLLINS
I got time to watch Aquarela on Friday night. Some scenes were just awesome in the true meaning of the word.
Your lady must be so proud to have been a part of it.
HRVATSKI JIM on 6TH SEPTEMBER 2021 10:46 AM
I second that.
Cheerio for now.
Presumably BBC England aren’t aware of the use of “sectarianism” allows for whataboutery in Scotland. It’s very unlikely BBC Scotland would put them in the picture, since they are the prime users of the word for that very reason.
Man furious after neighbour left out complete wrong colour bins for him to copy
A man is furious today after his irresponsible neighbour left out the completely wrong colour of bins last night for him to copy and leave out himself.
Simon Williams, who hasn’t actually checked which bins he should leave out himself since he moved in, realised his neighbours’ stupid mistake after watching the binmen drive past this morning completely ignoring his black bin.
Speaking earlier, whilst dragging the bin back inside he told us, “What a total idiot, how can he get this so wrong?
“I specifically checked which bins needed to go out last night, by looking out of my window at what the neighbours had done and copying them like I always do.
“I thought it was strange as Tony had left out his black bin, and mine was almost empty, apart from a couple of tins, and my green one was completely overflowing, it didn’t make any sense.
“Anyway, it turns out he’s totally f***** t up, the useless piece of s***, he should have put the green one out, and the black bin collection isn’t until next week.
“I wouldn’t mind, but it’s not rocket science to go online and just check. Why didn’t he just do that?
“Now I have no room in the green bin for at least another couple of weeks, all because this guy doesn’t even know how to check which bin should be going out for the binmen.
“I just hope he gets it right next week or I’ll have to go round and have a word.”
@ NewsThump