Celtic are about to embark on their fourth season as the last remaining Superpower in Scottish football. The old wars were won, while current challenges on the domestic front are accomplished with ease, but many questions remain about the club’s place in the world, what it’s objectives should be and how best to deliver them.
My expectation is that Celtic’s annual accounts, which will be released next month, will show they club washed its face, largely aided by the sale of Fraser Forster, but turnover is likely to be around 35% below the peak figure from season 2012-13, where we progressed to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, selling tickets and merchandise by the ton.
Season ticket sales are down around 10,000 from their peak a decade ago, reflecting the lack of domestic competition, an overhang of the economic climate, and – I expect – a tail off from what was an unsustainable high during the years of regrowth after the long, dark, 90s. The good news is the distress rate appears to have bottomed out. New blood has replaced old in many parts of the stands, as many learn to appreciate The Game for its sporting merit, not simply a means to three points.
We had a terrible start to the Ronny Deila era. We huffed and puffed in Iceland, were torn apart in Poland, but the performance against Legia at Murrayfield was nothing short of a capitulation. From the opening minute of the game we were worse, much worse, than we were in Warsaw.
Results and performances remained disappointing for months as Aberdeen regularly led the league into the new year, but signs of recovery appeared in the Europa League, where we qualified for the knock out stages and put on two credible performances against Inter.
Last autumn Ronny was under pressure. In another era, this could have been overbearing pressure. The change in managers brought a change in tactics, training and personal objectives, which disoriented the club. It also meant that we didn’t have a recruitment strategy in place for the new requirements.
There are many long term strategic threats, but if Celtic ever lose a league again, it’s likely to be when they embark on such an overwhelming technical change. If we do this again, we need to anticipate the shock and compensate accordingly.
Sporting objectives remain clear: win the league every season “forever and ever” and qualify for the Champions League group stages. Having given this some thought, I cannot see the scenario when we will lose the Scottish league title.
A horizon exists in Scottish football, no one can see beyond 10-in-a-row. This season WILL be five-in-a-row, most bookies are offering 1/33, a 3% return on your money, on this outcome. After that the countdown to 10 will grow louder, but 10 is not a real horizon, it just exists because Jock Stein’s ways were eventually copied. He had no mystical touch, only good strategy.
Rangers should never had stopped at 9. The money they had gave them an enormous advantage. Wim Jansen arrived from nowhere (Japan) with half a team signed by Jock Brown. It defied logic how we won that title, but it’s also clear than many at Ibrox had put their tools away before the start of that season. There is a warning here for Celtic. The latter parts of the Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon eras were all characterised by less innovative signings. More scouting trips to Edinburgh, fewer to Cracow, and the like. When the players, manager or scouts get weary, teams fail.
Achieving Champions League group stage qualification is the most difficult challenge Celtic face. We are clearly a better team than Qarabag, and have considerably more resources, but much of Wednesday night was spent worrying if the goal would come, and about what we would face in Baku. Even if we’re successful, strong unseeded teams will await in our section of the next round draw.
We are more than good enough to win league after league, but we’re not more than good enough to qualify for Champions League after Champions League. This should be Celtic’s objective for the next year – arrive in next summers’ qualifiers with a much better team.
The success of this will depend on Ronny’s ability to turn potential into actual European class players. He can do this, but he’ll need a tail wind. In particular, we have to hope that an earlier, ‘recruit from Edinburgh’ strategy, has not been redeployed in the form of a ‘recruit from Dundee’ one.
There are objective measurements we can point to. We are sound financially, pay our bills when due, have seen off all domestic competitors, will report more than 40,000 season ticket holders, a buoyant retail business and strong commercial partnerships. The stadium looks incredible, whoever conceived of the Celtic Way deserves some credit – but please – finish the job.
Copy what we saw at Murrayfield, put turnstiles at the perimeter of the footprint, build fan zones, build a café outside the ground. 30 years from now people will not sit in stadiums like Celtic Park, they will have better facilities, start planning for them now.
As anyone will tell you, football is a results business, and results over the next four weeks will have an enormous bearing on what state we feel the club is in. Defeat will not mean we are on the wrong path any more than victories mean we are on the right path, but it’s the game we play, so ‘play on’.
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Raise the Green Flag high.
Excited as……..l
It’s flag day and the bucketeers are on their way to Paradise to continue the great traditions of club have a great day one and all, The Celtic Support one of a kind.
Really looking forward to seeing John Clark unfurl the flag, without a doubt one of my favourite Celts, a man who has been involved on a daily basis with the club I love since the day I was born.
Mr Clark my eternal gratitude for all you have done for us.
Starry Plough
Looking forward to seeing John Clark unfurl the Championship flag. Well deserved honour.
Hopefully 3 points and another run out before Wednesday. The front quartet need to improve dramatically from the first leg.
Sky sports 1
Showing the match today
Guys
Can’t access comments on the previous article,any ideas
Using an iPad
Cheers
Leftclicktic
Probably more than any other poster you have the ability to bring a lump to my throat……ya big rocket! :-)
No idea weet weet
:-(
John Clark, unsung hero of the Lisbon Lions, take a bow today.
H.H.
Premiership Season Prediction
1. Celtic
2. Aberdeen
3. Hearts
4. St. Johnstone
5. Dundee United
6. ICT
7. Dundee
8. Motherwell
9. Ross County
10. Partick Thistle
11. Kilmarnock
12. Hamilton
Gary 67
.
Swap the bottom 2 around and I would agree.
Morning bhoys, Thanks to BT and Taggsy for the golf day last week, i’m only just recovering!!! What a day……. Well done to Lurcy’s boy also…… On to league business today and fingers crossed my pal Jimmy Mac doesn’t come and ‘park the bus’against us…. 2-0 to the hoops will do me…….. Enjoy your day bhoys COYBIG
Morning Lhads….Few of my picks taken already,I’ll take a chance on
Bernies Boy 4.20 Goodwood
Cheers Fleags hh
Sorry…wrong thread .hh
Thanks Bhoys
My wee Ghirl and hubby heading to the Dubliner to watch the hoooops victory :-)
Any Dubai Bhoys over there say Hail Hail to her
COYBIG
WEETWEETWEET
I’ll mail you a link to it. Gimme two minutes,mate.
Bitton & Mulgrew out injured, Izaguirre & Ciftci suspended.
Who plays centre mid and left back? Janko or Ambrose for Lustig?
Gordon
Ambrose Boyata VVD Tierney
Brown Armstrong
GMS Johansen Commons
Griffiths
A lovely day to start the league season. Delighted that John Clark is raising the flag. Hope everyone going has a safe journey. See a few of you later..
WEETWEETWEET
Mail sent,mate.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
Thank you sir ;)
HH
Just for info
A wee bit improvement with Shug, another 2 weeks of antibiotics, and back to vet to see if he needs more surgery – great
Off to see the Celtic shortly, so that’ll cheer us up though :-)
Hail Hail
Hutchybhoy
BlantyreKev, not I sit
Btw
Met your comrades in BV and in lounge on Wednesday, nice quiet bhoys
Apparently John Clark is second only to Willie Maley in length of service at Celtic. He certainly deserves today’s honour.
Good Morning Timland.
Hate change,it’s going tae take a thicko Luddite like maself a
age tae work this new fangly cqn oot,anyways away tae the game.
kevj…..hope yer well bud.
Gonny be a tough one today, first game of the season without my wee brother (big pal he was too) sitting beside me, I miss him dearly.
Cmon the hoops, do it for big Mick.
Mon the troops in hoops the day!
TD67
Big Mick, will be with you, having a wee word in your ear
Hail Hail
Tony
Your brother will be there in spirit with you today and always
Celtic, Celtic thats the team for me,
Celtic, Celtic on to victory,
They’re the finest team in Scotland, I’m sure you will agree,
We’ll never give up till we’ve won the cup and the scottish football league.
They come from bonnie Scotland, they come from county Cork,
They come from dear old Donegal and even from New York,
From every street in Glasgow they proudly make their way,
To a place called dear old paradise and this is what they say.
Celtic, Celtic thats the team for me,
Celtic, Celtic on to victory,
They’re the finest team in Scotland, I’m sure you will agree,
We’ll never give up till we’ve won the cup and the scottish football league.
There’s Fallon, Young and Gemmel who proudly wear the green,
There’s Clark, McNeill and Kennedy the best there;s ever been,
Jim Johnstone, Murdoch, Chalmers, John Divers and John Hughes,
And sixty thousand Celtic fans who proudly shout the news.
Celtic, Celtic thats the team for me,
Celtic, Celtic on to victory,
They’re the finest team in Scotland, I’m sure you will agree,
We’ll never give up till we’ve won the cup and the scottish football league.
TD67 he won’t be far away
Leftclicktick magic with the wee wummin
Enjoy the day everybody chores to do then boozer for a meet up with a few bhoys to cheer on the hoops, firsts swally off the season, might even sneak out on Wednesday kid on am working late
Hail Hail fellow champs
Heading in early. Hope its a cracker.
Hail Hail bhoys.
KLV
Ok hoooops calling
Catch up later
Oh
I’ve got Tom Jones the night at Falkirk stadium as well :-)
I have a spare ST today if anyone interested
Sorry today to hear of the death of ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper of WWF fame.
I grew up a massive fan of WWF and my favourite wrestler was Bret Hart, who of course was a great friend to Roddy. Their match at Wrestlemania 8 remains a classic, well worth watching again, you should be able to find it on YouTube.
Piper of course was very funny, and his promos before that Bret Hart match were hilarious.
RIP Roddy
Gym done, 10 mins on cross trainer, 10 mins stretching, 2 miles on treadmill in 19 minutes. Hopefully same again on Monday…..now Paradise beckons, here we go again… Thanks for support on here.
How do you make the space between paragraphs?
On my phone here, on the old blog I just pressed enter a couple of times and hey presto. Doesn’t seem to work now, see this post for example.
TonyD
Mick will be there in you.
TONYDONNELLY
Lovely comment from HAMILTONTIM.
.
Enjoy yer day,mate. Bittersweet without yer bro,but aye,he’ll be there.
.
He’ll ALWAYS be there.
CUCHULAINN
.~~~~~~~~~~++~~~~~~~~~~
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 30TH JULY 2015 6:50 PM
KOJO’s gonna luv this when he gets back.
Try spacing out your paragraphs as he is wont to do,and see what happens.
.
I reckon the only way to do it is as above,otherwise all the posts will look the same.
.
One of the better points of the site is recognising the source of a post by its layout.
This won’t do,oh no!