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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thistle
Celtic
don’t know
Hibs
Coventry
Norwich
Hogaborg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=en-GB&client=mv-google&v=q-wGMlSuX_c
lily is Olympic looking.
1) Ronnie Glavin
Partick
2) Billy McNeill
Clyde
3) Pierce O’Leary
Arenal
4) Pat Stanton
Hibs
5) Paul Telfer
Motherwell?
6) Chris Sutton
Southampton
7) Henrik Larsson
Helsingborg
Round 4: Name the former Hoops first professional club?
(2pts per first correct answer: 1pt per answer if you are correct but not first. Remember only 1 submission per round)
1) Ronnie Glavin Thistle
2) Billy McNeill Celtic
3) Pierce O’Leary Shamrock rovers
4) Pat Stanton Hibs
5) Paul Telfer Barnsley
6) Chris Sutton Norwich
7) Henrik Larsson Helsingborg
1 celtic
2 celtic
3 arsenal
4 hibs
5 southampton
6 norwich
7 helsingborg
Partick
Celtic
Shamrock rvr
Hibs
Luton
Norwich
Hogabors
celticrollercoaster supporting wee Oscar on 3 August, 2012 at 21:55 said:
And we’re back…
Round 4: Name the former Hoops first professional club?
(2pts per first correct answer: 1pt per answer if you are correct but not first. Remember only 1 submission per round)
1) Ronnie Glavin
Partick
2) Billy McNeill
Clyde
3) Pierce O’Leary
Arse
4) Pat Stanton
Hibs
5) Paul Telfer
6) Chris Sutton
Sunderland
7) Henrik Larsson
Helsingbourg
share on F’book or Twitter
Partick thistle
Clyde
Arsenal
Hibs
Motherwell
Southampton
Helsingborg
1. Fissel 2. Celtic 3. Dundalk? 4. Hibs 5. Real Madrid 6. Norwich 7. Helsingborg
I used to think ole Fanny Blankers was a collective term for gay men.
Olympics CSC
1thistle
2some amateur that I’ve forgot
3
4hibs
5
6norwich
7helsinborg
7
Answers to round 4
Partick Thistle
Celtic
Shamrock Rovers
Hibs
Luton Town
Norwich City
Hogaborgs BK
DJBEE
Change has took place now in area 113 after being in 409 since it was built I will need to think of a new one now.
CRC when will the quiz finish, I need to get to my bed…… knackered and up early.
HH
Djbee
Is that an opinion on O Leary or a team?
Wee Oscar scoreboard after round 4
The Spirit of Arthur Lee 45
Seven Fishes Four Steaks 32
glasgowbhoy 25
Vmhan 18
setting free the bears 17
DJBEE 15
CQN is changing so am I 15
hamiltontim 12
theglasgowcelticway 8
Uly aka Signor Mysterioso, Ace bucketeer 3.5
Estadion Nacional 0
Vmhan
You could have went after round 1
Love
Vmhan on 3 August, 2012 at 22:04 said:
10 mins
Vmhan
Going somewhere nice tomorrow?
Eh? Not RealMadrid?
Round 5
…..and of course to finish of we have “Hoops am I?” Remember You have 1 guess only, so up to you when you want to guess? Bonus 5 pts for the first correct guess.
Clue 1: I signed for Celtic in 1997 (20pts)
Wouldn’t it send a message if we played THE NORTHERN LIGHTS before the game tomorrow ….?
CQN is changing so am I on 3 August, 2012 at 22:04 said:
DJBEE
OK was just wondering.
Love yirself SOAL…….. not literally ……..stop that!
HH
Vmhan on 3 August, 2012 at 18:50 said:
Good man
Can I ask why 2×2?
You will be loading up on protein steak chicken big time?
Or you have legs like pig iron or your own personal masseur …
I heard tell of a ride to Belfast is it from Glasgow …any info?
HH
Jackson
Jackie?
Hoops am I?
Clue 1: I signed for Celtic in 1997
Clue 2: Born in Dunfermline, I made my debut for Celtic against Killie (12pts)
My guess Zaluskas
HH
Jackie mcnamara
Jackie mac
crap I never seen the bliddy 2nd clue
This is a nice desktop image
New Season CSC
Darren Jackson
Vmhan if you’re that tired just go to bed!
Vmhan on 3 August, 2012 at 22:09 said:
You can go to bed now :-)
1997 doh
told ye I was tired.
HH
Mark Burchill