I’ve been trying to interpret the Champions League group all evening. It’s an exciting draw. The world’s biggest box office team will come to Glasgow, a chance for us to marvel at, and test ourselves against, Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and the rest. We also have a sporting chance of finishing second or third, either of which would be acceptable.
For me most of this analysis is irrelevant for now. The two most important games are the first, Benfica, and the last Spartak Moscow, both at home, so for now, all that really matters is the 90 minutes at Celtic Park against Benfica on 19 September. Beat Benfica and you go to Moscow in the following game with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Can we beat Benfica at Celtic Park? Benfica have lost all three games they have played at Celtic Park, twice in recent Champions League history, but they are not a pot two team and we are not a pot four team for nothing. They have played only two league games this season and did not benefit from being tested by a Champions League qualifying competition.
In short, playing Benfica in the first game, when we will have played twice as many competitive games as they have, is ideal. We will be ready for them.
Tomorrow is a big day. Who was it said ‘perfect day to bury bad news’? While some of us are busy trying to keep a server online as transfer speculation reaches its annual crescendo, what chance last year’s accounts will be released?
If they are (and I have no information on this), you can count on some very bad news. Losses will be frightening, which sheds some light on some of the earthy tones from Neil Lennon today on just how big a result the win over Helsingborgs was.
We needed that win. We needed Messi and his pals to help us sell 60,000 ticket packages, and to prompt Celtic fans to go out and buy some of the many thousands of season tickets still available.
Let me leave you with a word that came out from the Spartak camp tonight. Andrey Tikhonov, Spartak player until he became a coach at the club last year, said, “Barcelona are favourites from the group. We and Benfica will be fighting for second place.
“Celtic are outsiders. The Champions League competition is about very good technical football. It has nothing to do with running after the ball that somebody kicked forward.”
Beat these clowns, Celtic.
700 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- ...
- 19
- »
The exiled Tim 23.34
I just realised that Templeton is 23 years of age,not good enough IMO,thought he was much younger.
As for Spartak Moscow and ITV. No better motivator. I’m sure Scott Brown et al will not rub their noses in it when we stuff them.
TET,
Have you seen Ambrose? Worth a punt, do you think?
S P
J D wd have buried that Watt cross nae bother!!
Christophe Berra?
No, nay, never!
Kenwyne Jones might be decent. I remember him playing for Sunderland against us in a preseason friendly a few years back and be was the best player on the pitch by a mile
Indio, you missed out the bunk beds and black boards we had to buy when the wee thai tims came to town.
Ikea must be paid.
Stupid huns, they will never learn.
Thanks Gordybhoy64, don’t understand this betting lark, found an odds checker website, joined paddypower and got 500/1 it would only let me bet £19.79p max though….
Thinking of spending the £9k plus winnings on psychiactric help.
On the finances:
Year 2010/11 represented arguably the poorest financial results for Celtic in a decade. Revenue of only £52.5M was swallowed up by operating costs of the same, while exceptional costs (contract terminations), amortisation and finance costs of £13M were balanced by the sales of McManus, Boruc, Fortune, Crosas and of course McGeady.
In essence, with no European football beyond a couple of ghastly qualifiers, we needed to sell £13M of talent to break even given the cost model that year.
2011/12 results will be published anytime soon, and will show I’m sure an increase in revenue to reflect the run in the Europa League, bringing £1.6M of UEFA money and 3 home Europa League gates adding perhaps a further £2M or so. Let’s say revenue £4M up on 2010/11 to £56M.
Compared with the big gains from player sales the previous year, in 2011/12 only Maloney was sold for significant money, plus whatever we got for Juarez and Hooiveld, and all else being equal, even with further cost cutting acoss the board, it’s predictable that the loss for the year will be somewhere north of £5M before surprises, with matching debt.
In essence, despite substantial reductions to costs year on year – £4M on wages alone last year – we have a business that needs some £60M revenue to break even, and Europa League and Domestic football doesn’t deliver that.
Were we to budget this season on the basis of last season’s financial results we’d be in some trouble, but Lenny’s success with this young team in European qualifying, coupled with the sale of Ki for £6M, presents an entirely different picture. (Ki’s sale is perhaps indicative of the size of last year’s deficit)
Even allowing for Paul’s suggestion that we have lost yet more season ticket holders this season (a cause for huge regret given the extraordinary circumstances of recent months in Scottish football), revenue for this coming year will be in the order of £70M if we come no better than 4th in the ECL group stage, and with the gain of almost £6M on Ki, Celtic for the time being is a profitable and cash positive club.
What we do with that cash is the issue.
Celtic’s problem is that we cannot plan for European income beyond this season. We will win the league this year, but given the Scottish coefficient in European football, whether we qualify for next season’ Champions League will not be known until the end of August again. Accordingly, there will be no big salary commitments over multiple years for Celtic signings, perhaps giving credence to the kind of short term outlay represented by the rumoured Del Piero signing.
My guess is that Lenny will be given half of what remains of this season’s surplus to buy players that fit the Celtic profile- young, talented, and less than £2M. He might get 3 that fit the bill if he’s very lucky. And he might be permitted to bring in a big salary for a short period of time – think Ljundberg, Keane and the likes. There will be though no increase in the wage bill that cannot be reversed in jig time should circumstances demand.
Buying young talent of course creates a hedge against future poor performance, as the value of young players increase in line with their professional development. A disaster on the field can be balanced in part by the sale of another Ki.
The remainder of this season’s surplus will be used to fill last year’s hole, and perhaps a couple of bob will be salted until Scottish football becomes a little less unstable.
Given everything we know, it’s a bit of no brainer to be honest.
TBB
tomcourtney
23:07 on 30 August, 2012
Anonymous gamblers…..
Guy on Sky said 400 to 1 odds on celtic, didn’t catch where. Resurrected an old Bet365 account and they’ve got 300 to 1.
Do I take the 300 or can I do better elsewhere with my £25.
Tom, go on to oddschecker, Youwin offering 600/1+ free matching bet up to £ 25 when you open an account
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/
It was a cracker of a cross that went a beggin’
We’ll all know what’s in the Lucky Bag the morra night!
I don’t think there will be any Big names so let’s hope it’s a Wayama or a Ledley or a Hooper that pops out..
Just wondering if anyone could help me out. Never been to an away european game before and thinking of going this season, is the only way of doing it through thomas cooks or have you been able to buy the ticket only and arrange your own flights and hotel etc?
Thanks
s p
Hooper was cot on his heels.
Ole Sevco haven’t got a pot to ̶p̶i̶s̶s̶ in, never mind play in.
philvisreturns
Aye, I will give it 5 years tops, things are a changin, just a matter of who blinks first, it’s down to what happens with uefa and the FFP thing.
………………..
fanadpatriot
Not good enough for us, but well good enough for a championship club, and he deserves to get out of that hellhole.
………………………………………………
Parkheadcumsalford
Only seen him playing for Nigeria, seems compitent, but prone to howlers, as most CB’s are now and again.
Big strong, very commanding in the air, not the quickest, but a good tackler, in all honesty, I don’t think he is the answer, but we seem to be struggling getting a CB in, after we lost Fojut, I honestly thought we would have had a plan B, but alas, it seems not.
I hope PL has something up his sleve.
Tomcourtny, I,m A psycho and as luck would have it a session will only set you back £850. That leaves you enough for a couple of beers and a packet of foxes creams.
Ipaddy McCourt 23.40
Kenwayne Jones IMO would be a great signing,a player who has lost his way.
With a big money move,the money replaced his desire,the lifestyle replaced his objective,of scoring goals.
He needs to get back ,to what made him,scoring goals.
If he came to Celtic,recaptured his hunger for goal scoring,he would be a sensation at Celtic.
A Ceiler Gonof Rust
A psycho ?? are you sure you want to admit to that
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5zFsy9VIdM
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/
Yep lead boots for that one..
Cheers MIckMacPaddyWhack
Went with PaddyPower at 500/1 though as they seemed appropriate???
Yeah I know it makes no sense but didn’t like the feel of YouWin…..
foxes creams aaaaaaaahhhhh
I’ll lie down for them.
Any news on Emile Donkey joining Sevco?
Does the Sevconian transfer embargo include managers? Just imagine, 16 months of comedy gold, with the Chuck/All Bros.
A Ceiler Gonof Rust
23:48 on 30 August, 2012
Tomcourtny, I,m A psycho and as luck would have it a session will only set you back £850. That leaves you enough for a couple of beers and a packet of foxes creams.
Psycho you may be but you won’t pass your GCSE Maths…
Time to retire.
Take care and god bless Timland.
Looking forward to the mayhem the morra, Not, but am expecting a couple of players in.
Will be dissapointed if we have to go with what we have, but if we have to, in Lenny I trust.
PL will be in for a rough ride I suspect if we don’t do the biz.
HH
KTF
Id not say no to any of the proposed signings mentioned so far, Del Piero, Berra, Jones, Riquleme. The team needs improvement.
Last night was the first game Ive been to for over a year (reasons outwith my control) and the lack of ideas and creativity were worse than they were last game I went to, Aberdeen 0-2 away game last season.
Every game is a struggle as we wait on a bit of luck on the wings and central midfeilers just do enough but never think forward, after wee Jamsie Forrest Chico Muldini is our main play maker, Samaras creates but doesnt look up so what he creates doesnt really come to much. Central midfeild of Brown and Wanyama, Victor Wanyama are not creative so we rely on a mad Samaras run or wee Jamsie to create something despite double marking. To me thats bad management and the praise singing of Neil Lennon last night was a bit of a joke.
Absolutely loved last night but this is a team ‘just getting bye’ nothing to do with financials, the management team & the team are just getting bye, just doing enough to get bye and struggling with that. I dont expect great CL wins but last night was a struggle.
Mc Gowan – Russell – Daly. Night all. o))))
——- Sign here please.
Estadio Nacional
23:55 on 30 August, 2012
Id not say no to any of the proposed signings mentioned so far, Del Piero, Berra, Jones, Riquleme. The team needs improvement.
Last night was the first game Ive been to for over a year
best stay away
The Battered Bunnet
Thanks for that post. There was unbelievable pressure on Neil the other night as he will have been aware of the financial situation.
I feel we will do alright this season in Europe. I consider Europa League in the new year (this season) as success but I’m sure the players and management have other ideas and will want a better outcome than that. ;)
Lads I’ll go for 2 signings and Russell will be 1 and the other will be a CH.
Magnificentseven, for £850 I,ll admit to almost anyhing :)
If only sevco black took that kind of attitude, he,d admit he was pash and a better painter than a fitba player.
Honesty.com
HH bruv
Paul.
Clowns indeed. Spartak have no European pedigree or history.
They are a bunch of nouveau riche Johnny come lateleys who have ideas way above their station.
We need to show these upstarts what a proper football team can do.
Magnificentseven 23:57
Why should I stay away?
hen1rik
00:01 on 31 August, 2012
Lads I’ll go for 2 signings and Russell will be 1 and the other will be a CH.
will we get past Helsinki if we sign them :-)
LoL.
Estadio Nacional
00:02 on 31 August, 2012
Magnificentseven 23:57
Why should I stay away?
better the stadium if full of supporters rather than fans
Magnificentseven 00:04
Aye?
Some one who had been forced to go to work in the middle east for over a year, and who was at Celtic Park 2 hours before kick off for ‘first game in a year’ is not a supporter?
Aye?
iPaddy McCourt
Kenwyne Jones…
I was at that game and he made the same impression on me.
Huge fast strong seemed to have everything.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
iPaddy McCourt
23:40 on 30 August, 2012
Christophe Berra?
No, nay, never!
Kenwyne Jones might be decent. I remember him playing for Sunderland against us in a preseason friendly a few years back and be was the best player on the pitch by a mile
Estadio – incredibly negative. Enjoy that pint on 1st Sept (me da’s birthday).
We have scored more and let in considerably less. Wot’s not to like??????
Can i suggest that you do a Tim calendar with your photies and pass proceeds to wee Oscar?
Estadio Nacional
00:07 on 31 August, 2012
Magnificentseven 00:04
Aye?
Some one who had been forced to go to work in the middle east for over a year, and who was at Celtic Park 2 hours before kick off for ‘first game in a year’ is not a supporter?
Aye?
not the point….. doesn’t matter if you can’t manage to get to any game………………….if you can’t be happy after last night when we were in control of our destiny the whole night then you are a fan not a supporter