My friends in Celtic, for the first time in four years we start a league campaign as champions. We carry a slender-but-hopeful lead into the second leg of our Champions League third qualifying round tie, and we are hotter favourites to win the league this season, than North Korea’s Supreme Leader’s favourite Pyongyang team would be, if he was to playing as striker.
Quite simply, the return on money placed on Celtic to win the league this season more accurately reflects a tax-free savings plan than a gamble. The bookies will hold your money until March or April then return it with some interest. Your rate of return will directly reflect the interest they can earn elsewhere.
This is the ninth eve-of-the-season we have reported on the state of the club. During this time we have gone toe-to-toe with a competitor who tried so hard to get the better of us, they ran up unsustainable debts, which could reach £134m, and which will never be paid or forgiven.
Celtic ran a better operation, were commercially sharper, had by far the best scouting system in the country, but paid their bills and ‘lost’ five leagues in this time.
Living with this was hard. In fact, it tore the Celtic support apart. The question was simple, “If they can, why can’t we?”
They couldn’t, and now the ideological debate is over. Mantras we have heard for decades have proven to be false. ‘Speculate to accumulate’ and ‘For every fiver Celtic spend….’ were suitable for an inflating market, where player values, TV contracts and match day revenues rose consistently, but this strategy was fatally flawed.
Whatever was accumulated in Scottish football it was never financial reserves, so when revenues dipped, or the vagaries of sporting fortune denied the wealthy their anticipated earnings, Armageddon happened – for one club!
Students of economic history will be able to tell you that even the most obvious economic lessons are eventually forgotten. New people arrive, achieve some early successes which reaffirm their ideological beliefs (in this instance ‘We deserve more money to be spent on footballers’), make no provisions for the inevitable change in circumstances, before disappearing into the obscurity from which they came, leaving others to live with the consequences.
Here is the true State of your Club. Celtic will continue its trajectory without changing what has been orthodoxy since the last century. Over any business period we will spend whatever money comes into the club. In normal times debt levels will trend downwards, providing space for the afflictions of fortune to be accommodated. We will most likely promote more players from our precocious youth system and buy fewer squad fillers than in the past.
The blink-junkies, who still believe in the values of Sir David Murray, will be reminded on these pages of their consequences *.
When this period of our history ends, we will reflect back on what, by then, will be the most successful period of any club, in any country. Ever. Those of you who lived through Lisbon are now enjoying the second Golden Generation of our club, but this time, nine years will not contain it. This Generation will stretch from 2000 as far as your mind’s eye can see, if only someone would coin a catchy phrase to encapsulate this successful period!
The Battle of the Ages is over, Celtic have prevailed, as did every Scottish football fan who wanted the madness to end. We won!
Thanks to everyone who bought a raffle ticket to help with our summer charity causes. Enjoy the season. I will.
*At the moment I’m reading End this Depression Now by Nobel Economics Laureate Paul Krugman, an excellent insight into how even the most eminent allow what they want to believe to obscure some of the lessons every economics under-grad is taught. It’s also a fine retort to the political classes who believe there’s nothing we can do for the economy but strangle it a little tighter.
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Fans arrested at Brechin
Two men, aged 27 and 28, were arrested in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire.
Blantyretim says he is in Turkey.
Doubt he would pass for 27 or 28.
Bloke
Not expert, but for the Blog – WordPress get’s a good name.
Watching the cycling. What is the bloke out shopping doing at the front of the Kieron.
Remember the ball that landed on the Brechin hedge?
via the internets CSC
bourne
I’m playing about with that having moved on from blogger.
Dundee sell 3,000 tickets for Killie tomorrow.
miki67 on 3 August, 2012 at 17:59 said:
weeron on 3 August, 2012 at 17:38 said:
>>>>>
Mhan……yer a diamond! Got the app! Working a treat!
HH!
Good. I’ll get it myself, then…..:)
What has Campbell got to say about all the happenings in Scottish Football?
The Great Architect is doing a Great job and must have the weight of the World on his shoulders.
I tell you what, we all make mistakes, every last one of us.
The biggest mistake Campbell is making is saying nothing but then when he says anything he is thoroughly compromised. I pity the man as he has no chance now. We must always forgive, even those who hate us.
Celtic Celtic thats the team for me.
Campbell is now an irrelevance and should be put out of his misery. His mind is so closed he can’t even understand Love.
BadaBing
I had a beer with a Dundee fan last night. He’s convinced that Dundee will look to take around that number to most games this year because their fans still see them as a big club. All part of the Scottish football armageddon, obviously.
NL on STV with a new book,embdae know which hack if any,assisted him.
Good evening CHAMPIONS
Really enjoyed the game on wed and loved MY seat in the main stand on my BRAND NEW ST. Looking so much forward to the unfurling of the FLAG tomorrow.
Weefra HH
I just turned on Radio Clyde and Andy Walker and Hugh Keevins are ripping into Celtic.
What is Walker’s problem?
Turned off now.
Afternoon all,
I’m bored in work today so was just browsing the net and found this funny screenshot from twitter:
http://twitter.com/plyons7/status/231135168407162880/photo/1/large
Hail Hail
I am just listening to Doncaster on sportsound ,I kid you not the complete crap this guy has just spouted needs to be heard to be believed .
He really must think we are all buttoned up the back ,utterly astounding .
hail hail
Bloke109- aye metdown,away fams will grow on number this season imo,negating a lot of perceived losses.
http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2012/08/tfc-sign-defender-darren-o%E2%80%99dea
Good Lock Darren might even have a chance to see him
gsu
Quiz Question
What height is Fraser Forster?
Spencie calling out the armageddon types.
Luck for Lock
Doh! HomerSimpsonCSC
bsr-6’7″ i think
Keevins calls a hun “hurting” haha
Lovely piece of spin from Bhardwaj as he reads out the press statement from Sevco that they ‘will not be offering a contract to Greek player Kafes’.
Takes some kind of effort to read out what someone tells you to say.
Alternative endings to the story:
1. They couldn’t afford him
2. He couldn’t agree terms
3. He didn’t want to play in the fourth tier
4. He wasn’t impressed with what he saw
5. He has a more valuable offer elsewhere
6. The whole link was an agent thing
The more things change…
Evening non-golfing CQN bhoys
bournesouprecipe on 3 August, 2012 at 18:23 said:
Quiz Question
What height is Fraser Forster?
share on F’book or Twitter
That is a tall story.
Why are they mentioning Sevco on Shortbread..SPL starts tomorrow!
bournesouprecipe 18:23
8ft 9”?
EN
Gold medal for GB in cycling team pursuit.
Bada/googy
The tallest Celtic Keeper ever?
Programmes been pre-manufactured to mention…them. Craig Levien interview, why??????
EN
Any rolls?
BSR
18’88″” :)
Weefra HH
Evening CRC…….
bsr- Cervi was tall but not 1st team regular?
Bloke109 on 3 August, 2012 at 18:27 said:
Some of these agents still think that to offer a player to Toxico is putting then in line for a Celtic offer.
bournesouprecipe 18:33
Had a six bag of imitation rolls today from Al Mortonana bakery, fakes, poor substitute so they were.
Only 15 sleeps to Roll n Sausage Day….
EN
Massive Attack? meh.
Massive Attack + Tracey Thorne? YES!!!
Just looking at Lennys new book on the online store.
The book is advertised on the official site (and on the back of the book) at st9.99 but in the store it is st16.24. Someone has to be taking the piss!
Hail Hail
bournesouprecipe on 3 August, 2012 at 18:33 said:
Bada/googy
The tallest Celtic Keeper ever?
Peter Latchford was BIGGER.