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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googybhoy ♥ Celtic on 3 August, 2012 at 18:36 said:
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.
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:))))))
Weefra/Bada
Pre quiz quiz question.
Reckon big Fraze is the tallest ole Sellick Keeper ever ever
6ft 7 ins
googy
Jungle chants……………Latchford, Latchford
BSR
My niece got a pic with him, and she is about 5’9, and was dwarfed next to him.
Weefra HH
bournesouprecipe on 3 August, 2012 at 18:39 said:
C’mon no lazy journalism.
Give us the facts.
Mark Hateley says that CQN without the golfers will be like signing a new player.
bournesouprecipe on 3 August, 2012 at 18:39 said:
I heard that Frank Haffey was 9. 3.
googy
As the guys have said, – 6’7”
*that big*
bournesouprecipe on 3 August, 2012 at 18:41 said:
Peter Peter gies a wave.
He always did.
HT
Will you be only entrant tonight on the quiz? If so then good chance of retaining your title :-)
HH
CRC
googybhoy
Have you not got a wee transaction to make?
CRC
Secret Duel Contracts YA Nob…nothing to do with EBT
Dense Sevco fan on Clyde – ha ha
I blame the schools.
Evening Celts just back from my 2nd 2hr cycle of the day……. bliddy knackered
Bournesoup
Latchford for england always brought a smile and a wave from Peter Latchford
HH
celticrollercoaster supporting wee Oscar on 3 August, 2012 at 18:47 said:
googybhoy
Have you not got a wee transaction to make?
Indeed
Will sort out tonight.
Cheers
Serious question,has john brown officially “walked away”?,I,for one,certainly hope not,from the moment he made that speech on the steps of ibrox,it was clear that he was the man to lead rangers to glory,after all,his use of profanitiy on such a public forum,was proof of his oratory skills and commitment.His subsequent radio appearance only served to underline the great mans prowess as a spokesperson and gave voice to that silent,but dignified mass of fans who had waited,ever so patiently,for the messiah.Sadly,it would appear,at least on the surface,the chosen one has gone the way of the host of other,”saviours” of rangers,and disappeared into the night,which leaves me feeling a pang of pity,because,of all the charlatans who threw their hat into that odious ring,it was “bomber” on whom I pinned my hopes,had he been successful,his leadership would have been the scource of unending joy for every Celtic fan,so,let’s hope that he makes a Lazarus like comeback,time will tell.
bourne
Ole Tommy McTall, who played eight games for Celtic in season 1896-97 was 7′ 2″. Everybody know that.
Jimmy on Clyde there…. Probably the best call I’ve ever heard on it. Must be a tim at the wind up.
Jimmy ‘The SPL have got a Celtic minded panel together to strip Rangers of titles….’
Hugh ‘Ach, there you go! We’re trying to have an adult conversation and you go and say that….’
Jimmy ‘I’m havin an adult conversation! Im fae the West end!’
CRC
I was meant to be in Aberdour for the meal but unfortunately my good lady isn’t keeping well so I’m having to be nursie :-)
May be on to defend my crown, will need to play it by ear.
Vmhan on 3 August, 2012 at 18:50 said:
Are you practicising for the WeeOscar CQN bike ride to Belfast?
HH
CRC
i hate sevco
Seeing as theres no high heid yins on tonight, what say we post as many links to dodgy games etc as we like,loads of sweary words a must, what about a rebel quiz….. any shenanigans will do (thumbs up).
:¬)
archdeaconsbench
The west end of what?
The Looney bin?
Shortbread giving Dodds airtime to tell lies about his EBT,and save his job.Criminal.
Trust the SFA to grant Sevco’s licence when Paul67 is away to the gowff.
‘rangers are scum’ mick connolly
notthebus seen this on the new Scottish football Moniter blog earlier;))
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john clarke says:
August 3, 2012 at 13:24
Tic 6709 says:
August 3, 2012 at 13:07
‘.Jeez,Is this it ?.Back to the EBT’s, it’s dual contracts that are the real issue here.’
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Tic 6709, I share your irritation at the inability, or downright troll-like unwillingness , of some to comprehend that the charge against the club that used to be in the SPL is one of failure to comply with Football rules, by making payments that were not disclosed in the contracts submitted to the SFA, as required..
Whether that club or any other club is honest in its dealings with the taxman is quite a separate issue.
(But it so happens that the club in question has not paid a huge amount of tax. CFC on the other hand is fully up to date with its tax and NI payments).
So, if others would kindly stick to the actual issue: Did SDM make payments to a whole string of relatively important players while sending contracts to the SFA in which those payments were not declared as part of the contractual remuneration?.
And we should be making damned sure that the Commission is not allowed to limit their investigation in order to shield and hide possible rank corruption among senior officials in the SFA who had particular connections with the accused club.
Snake…
I’m sure it was a tim…. Had tae be!
Thanks to BBC, and Billy Liar for continuing to broadcast the ‘prima facie evidence’
to the nation of licence payers.
jumpers for goalposts CSC
i am off to listen to ssb cause i just love that show all those hurting huns telling everyone they have been punished enough, las time i was in goven ibrox was still standing, hence they have not been punished enough, i rest my case CQN
CRC naw mate, its my last ….. final final attempt to get rid of the beer belly :¬)
Fridays a dress down day so jeans and t shirt etc into a bag and cycling to work at 5am this morning, I’ll be in my bed short zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
:¬)
Looking forward to seeing you and all the Celtic faithful tomorrow CRC HH
my mac no longer updates or refreshes on any given CQN page now…
uly
Keep trying, problems here as well (Macbook pro) – finding it eventually does.
When big FF first signed for Celts I thought he was the height of nonsense…… the bhoy has done good and fair play to him and the coaching staff for sticking with it.
Vmhan quote of the day
“balls to the golfers”
:¬)
Bourne
Logged in and it seems okay
Furr Noo
U
Vmhan 18:54
Haha, and jokes, remember an empty a few years ago Twists n Turns and others had endless jokes, great night, I ended up tipsy, somebody spilt ginger on the new carpet (no me) and the neighbours phoned the polis, I hink….
EN
Random words
Phil’s blog
Dodgy figures and reporting
Daily Disc
Bullet
Herald
And the word Park
u