You get the sense that the Sword of Damocles is hanging over Newco Rangers. Some wondered about the sense in Mike Ashley controversially renaming Ibrox as the rumoured ‘Sports Direct Outlet Village’ but having bought the rights to do so for £1, he is now able to leverage this detail in his earlier loan.
He has the retail and stadium naming rights but ownership of the club badge, details of which it appears the Newco board leaked to the Daily Record yesterday, would allow him to control the strips, novelty ducks and other tat, no matter where it’s sold. Any future shirt deal would need his authority, as it would require use of ‘his’ logo. Which would inevitably lead to shirt deals being concluded by one of Ashley’s in-house brands.
All this makes sense if you are a retailer with notions of monopoly status. ‘Rangers’ branded pencil cases, alarm clocks and shirts will continue to sell, no matter in which league Newco inhabit. It’s a straight merchandise play from the retailer, who is the only person in the UK in a position to exploit clubs going through a hard time, like Newco.
Ashley is thick-enough skinned after sitting through all that Newcastle fans could throw in his direction for years. He doesn’t need to be liked, and with control over intellectual property like the badge, he doesn’t even need to be the retailer to make money every time club merchandise is sold. Newco wouldn’t even be able to put the badge on their tickets without his agreement.
In many ways this proposed deal is an inevitable step. Clubs are enormous merchandising opportunities, the people who can profit most from this are the retailers. It is, of course, only inevitable because of the state Sir David Murray left oldco in. As soon as he handed the keys to a liquidation specialist the game was over.
News in today’s Herald that an S&P study makes Celtic the least likely publicly listed football club in Europe to default is likely to sound a little hollow to some who watched us against Accies on Sunday. There are many ways to build a sustainable and successful football team, but none of them involve spending more than you earn.
[calameo code=0003901718cdc4362fa2e? lang=en page=122 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
648 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- ...
- 17
- »
Evening Bhoys.
Home at in my cot…
Mrs BT went for Euros today at my expense so took the opportunity to meet a couple of lurkers in Hamilton for a pint.
nutty and specks… Tom that’s cunny to you..
Shattered.com
Geordie Munro 1926-
If we are going down the route of offsetting bad luck against good luck then to be fair the deflected goal v Maribor would be irrelevant.
As we only played that match thanks to one of the biggest strokes of good luck in our CL history – the Legia Warsaw registration mistake.
On balance we have had more good luck than bad luck this season which is most unlike Celtic.
Someone was asking earlier about the cases of those Celtic supporters arrested in Amsterdam.
No date has yet been set for their appeals.
BT –
Glad you are on the mend.
How’s Cunny?
joe filippis haircut
19:32 on 9 October, 2014
They’ll have to do it from the grave, then ……… they’re finished…….the vultures are circling !!!!
BT
Enjoy your last night of food and water for a while! :-)
Where did you go for a pint?
Tom
Good. We chatted about you today..
I’m going for a beer with some Bhoys a week on Monday to SHOTTS…
Halfway for you if interested..
HT
Stonehouse for a beer then pir mahal for Indian
I’m shattered.
BT –
I could manage that. Keep me posted.
BT
Get some rest mate.
Tgbs,
Tbh, I didn’t want to go down any route. Especially the route of ifs and buts.
Am interesting article in The Guardian about Ashley’s M.O. Particularly like this bit, sound like a footballing model used in a Club we know?
…But a football club is not merely a business. Not only that, but as Arsène Wenger eventually found, a steady supply of hidden gems in a ferociously competitive market is impossible to guarantee. The fans vehemently believe Ashley has got the balance wrong. Whereas a cheap pair of sports socks is an end in itself, their relationship with their team is different…
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/03/mike-ashley-sports-direct-route-running-newcastle-united
Worth a read.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Good Evening Timland;
It seems to me some on here are getting a wee bit afraid of
Ashley taking control of the hun…..will not say so of course,
might not be a bad thing in the long run……after all the Celtic
support are asleep.
wakeywakeyCSC.
And this bit from the same article, remind you of a club that used to exist and trying Phoenix?
…“We don’t have unrealistic expectations. What the fans want is a club with some ambition. Instead, mid-table mediocrity is the only gameplan.”
At the moment, even that looks a long way off.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Anyone know itv London channel on sky
lennon’s passion
17:40 on 9 October, 2014
Oh, yes…..so, you’re the judge and jury ……Doooooooohhhhhhhh
Gordy
973.
Careful up there;)
G64
I’m goosed as in my bed and not on free view..
Internet down and virgun media coming to fix tomorrow..
So no.. Sorry..
.
‘intellectual property like the badge’
Aye Ready..?
Summa
nye bevans’ rebel soldier
19:45 on 9 October, 2014
wakeywakeyCSC.
It’s the BHUNS who need to wakey, wakey ……. Ashley’s KING VULLTURE…..HAHAHAHA
geordie munro
19:48 on 9 October, 2014
Ta…!!! ……… Who’s Gordy ??
Geordie and BT cheers for the replies not normally that far up those channels, cough cough
gordybhoy64
19:46 on 9 October, 2014
Gordy……973 ….hahaha
67heaven,
See above;)
Started raining this afternoon so grabbed a jaiket out the cupboard fore going out……inside the pocket was an old ticket for 2011 Scottish cup Celtic V sevco 2nd march 2011 at C/P……Price was over the top for north lower stand……doubt I would pay that price now…or better still boycott……2 things sprung to mind…… cost=£40.00…..the other being I realised I have more than 1 jacket.
My friends in Celtic,
Stating the obvious, but much more concerned with our own difficulty’s at present.
However if we must discuss events across at Greyskull, I do not think that anybody, especially on here can pre-empt the obstinate and un-predictable Mike Ashley.
And why would we even want to try.?
HH.
I would say it’s inevitable Ashley will take ove rthe Huns in the next couple of years.
He’ll see them as a good European marketing platform for merchandise, requiring pennies of input compared to the running costs of Newcastle.
Getting the Huns back in the top tier and into Europe will appeal to his business sensibilities.
The question will be on what level? Downsized to an Aberdeen-sized operation accepting the Euro-league qualification as success, or competing on a grander scale against us, costing higher investment to sate the Orc hordes desperation for superiority?
Many on here will rail against the mere suggestion of that inevitability but, with realism, a country with a million plus Orcs to bleed dry was never going to NOT have a Sevco. That perfect world would be one devoid of business enterprise or basic commercial opportunism.
What Celtic must do is prepare, or get out of Scotchland; I’d prefer the latter.
Geordie Munro 1941-
The point I was trying to make is that in my view we have had more good luck than bad this season, which is most unusual for Celtic, and which makes our current situation all the more concerning.
Nonetheless as I said in my original post I don’t think this is all the managers fault; he is working under constraints that would severely test anyone. In my view.
I don’t think that opinion – necessarily deserved a condescending “dearie me CSC” and I think that when you try to ridicule someone else’s posts in such a manner then you are being a bit disingenuous to then claim that “you don’t want to go down any route” when you are faced with a counter-response.
I think we will leave it at that.
gordybhoy64
19:46 on 9 October, 2014
Anyone know itv London channel on sky
=========================
973, just above your regular Babestation channels.
Ahp, someone’s alreay told you…
Cults…
From the previous thread, much earlier…
Thanks for those thoughts. Interesting analysis much of which I find sensible.
HH
BT
Delighted to hear you are back home. Exhausted eh? After a week with all those young nurses in Clydebank??????
We demand to know their names!!!
20 minutes at Wembley.
‘Multi-millionaire supremely gifted English XI’ 0 v 0 ‘Throw a net around a pub in the middle of Italy’ select.
‘Mon the posties.
blantyretim:
You’ll be glad to get home, hope you’re on your feet soon.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Damn. Telly off.
the glorious balance sheet
20:00 on 9 October, 2014
To say the manager is not to blame. Utterly baffles me. He has one system and it’s not working.
topkat
My old Dad died that night, 84 years of age, sitting in front of the telly watching the game. He called me at home and my wife answered the phone. He died while talking to her.
It’s obviously a date I’ll never forget but at least he signed off watching Celtic beat them.
God Bless him.
First 20 mins of Sweden v Russia end to end stuff….good positive fitba.
Spain one down, 6/4 fill yer boots.