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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Celtic v Real Madrid, live next Saturday on ITV4, 6.55pm kick-off (CP time).
Real Madrid beat LA Galaxy5-1 last night.
Here is a story to get the huns frothing at the mouth…
Newly-promoted Sampdoria will start its first season back in Serie A with a one-point penalty for match-fixing after its plea bargain was accepted on Friday.
The Italian Football Federation’s disciplinary committee accepted all of the deals agreed with prosecutor Stefano Palazzi and will pay a fine of $37,000.
Serie B club Bari has been deducted five points and fined $98,000. Atalanta defender Andrea Masiello has been banned for 26 months for offenses during his time at Bari.
Former teammates Alessandro Parisi, who is with Torino, and Marco Rossi, at Cesena, have been suspended for 24 months and 20 months, respectively.
If thems are done for cheating re dual contracts then the second placed team should be given the title/cup.
I cannot understand why anyone would not want the titles/cups. We didn’t cheat, they cheated.
Ill take the titles that we were cheated out of back.
Feck the asterix’
When is Bangura ever “in”?
Johnson on 50k at QPR? Categorical proof the world has finally gone mad!
Surely we should be looking at the South American market ala Izzy?
ASonOfDan
Exactly.
See below, they’re having a hard job convincing themselves they’re the same club never mind anyone else! Seem to think if they say it often often it might turn out to be true.
‘We then went into liquidation, since then we have reformed as the same club under a new company, we have been demoted to SFL division three’
I’d like to ask one of them the following:
1. Under what circumstances would it have been classed as a new club?
2. Why did you so vehemently ‘Show the red card to liquidation’?
3. If the old club was incorporated into the company in 1899 and the old company liquidated in 2012, under what criteria is the club allowed to separate from the company and continue?
4. Why do Companies House show your date of incorporation as being 29/05/2012?
HH
Bloke109 on 3 August, 2012 at 14:43 said:
Theres so much could be done with matchday experience.
Personally I’d like to see a penalty box with some of the youth squads in it now and again. Letting younger kids shoot at “future celtic keepers” or trying to dribble past the celtic youth team etc etc.
Could even have like a socceram style skill challenge for people to watch.
How much would it cost to hire entertainers to wander around parts of the ground before games? Just so there is more of a family feel to it.
Food outlets: Here we go again (do doo dee do) I cant understand why any team, nvm just celtic doesnt shove a greggs (with a green banner) into in place of one of the wee chippy stands.
Build a starbucks extension on the superstore.
The museum has been mentioned.
The entrance to the Kerrydale Suite I think could make another place where a franchise could go, hell, why a franchise? why not just a small celtic themed cafe?
Make people enjoy going to the match, improving the football is obviously a start but there are so many other ways to make fans feel like the match is worth it.
One other point: Is it infeasible to gift certain establishment moderatley small, very low-to no interest loans to help them re-furbish themselves and draw more punters? I know there are mulitudes of reasons not to, but there are also obvious bonuses. Plus think of the good publicity it would bring the club for putting more into the community around it.
Personally I’m a bit ambivalent on the mode of punishment that ought to be administered to the Orcs: I was leaning towards leave the titles blank so that everyone for all time knows they are a bunch of cheating b*****d’s every time they look at the history books; but now I’m wavering towards us gaining the titles…the more closely you examine their pathological incapacity for contrition the more you begin to consider a GIRFUY scenario- they are obsessed with counting titles won, naturally caused by the fact we wear the elite crowns of rare European Kings…so nothing stings them more than us overtaking their much cherished tightly held comfort blanket of accumulated titles…still undecided though.
traditionalist88 on 3 August, 2012 at 14:39
I thought the spokesperson was making it clear no reference of “Rangers” in any shape or form could be made in newco name (www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18509619).
As far as I know only the BBC have even dared bring this up. No other MSM has given it a mention. I brought this up with a Hun I know and asked him what he thought. He looked perplexed whilst reading over but after giving the matter some thought consoled himself in the reasoned conclusion, “look, If this was true I’d have read it on FF. it’s all timmy lies”. I lost the power of speech momentarily but i did manage a nod in reply.
Now maybe Sevco have managed to circumvent Company House rules or whatever but if this is all just a rouse to buy Seco credibility for a short time (name change procedure can take up to a year) conning stupid huns and fleecing them of money in the process you’ve got to hand it to Green and co. Pure genius.
By the time the stupid huns realise they’re not huns after all, and not only that, cant even call themselves huns, well, things might get a tad confusing. It could all end in much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Maybe I’m missing the bigger picture but I dont see how Sevco could have secured “Rangers” as their name when the Company House rules and regulations wont allow for it?
leftclicktic on 3 August, 2012 at 14:50 said:
After reading post on SFM
Can it really be so hard to understand or am I just not getting it :)))
DEADHUN Club registration number at companies house SC004267
SEVCO NEWCO registration number at companies house SC425159
JUST TEXT AN ORC to explain how these numbers are the same :)))
IS IT JUST ME
………..
Well they both start SC and the 00 doesn’t really count
So thats SC00
The 42 are OK so thats
SC0042
If you add the 5 and the 1 thats 6, so thats SC00426
and the half way point between 5 and 9 is 7, so thats
SC004267
easy peasy really ;-)
If they award us titles,will the prize money be adjusted? CL entry is a whole different stratosphere financially.I think a UEFA delegate might just be on the Committee.
If I was a hun, I would be questioning were that £30 Million Sevco promised for the 31st of July is.
I would be wondering how we are paying SPL wages on Third Division income when we couldnae pay our bills when we were getting CL money.
I would be wondering how we were going to survive for 3 seasons on SFL income.
Then again, if I was a stupid hun none of the above would occur to me…
Very simple, they cheated so titles stripped.
We were cheated, so titles gained.
That would have them choking on their bluenose burgers more than anything else.
We didn’t win them because we weren’t allowed to.
Son of Gabriel
With you all the way on that. And before anyone asks, yes, it’s a customer thing, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Thomas Krenz was head of MOMA in New York when he was asked who his competition was, with the interviewer expecting ‘other galleries, museums’. He replied that cafes were, so they made their cafe first class. He said Broders was, so he made their bookshop first class. He said bars were, so he opened the museum at night. Now I know this is comparing apples and oranges, but it’s the kind of thinking I’d like to see. Why not have a cafe? Why not have a bar? CP should be the centre of everything in the area, and make those of us in a radius want to spend time there?
Give ’em the ole 3-4-1-2 tomorrow:
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Zaluska :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::: Wanyama :::::::::: Rogne ::::::::::: Mulgrew :::::::::::::
Matthews :::::::: McCourt ::::::::::::::: Ledley ::::::::::: Izaguirre
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Commons ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::: Hooper ::::::::::::::: Samaras ::::::::::::::::::::::
With that team, and by scoring more than the opposition, we should win.
Bloke 109
Why not have a cafe? Why not have a bar?
You just want to have your cake, soak it in alcohol, and eat it.
Foxy,
I thought using Rangers might have been possible had a clear distinction been made, such as Rangers 2012. They may claim that calling themselves ‘The Rangers’ makes a clear distinction, however a few days in and the MSM have changed their references to ‘The Rangers’ back to ‘Rangers’, most probably due to a sinister mix of hun intimidation and a complicit MSM willing to go along with the charade. This is hardly surprising but it baffles me that the ‘governing’ body, the SFL, can credit Sevco with the history of Rangers on their own website!
A clear distinction between liquidated huns and new huns? I don’t think so.
HH
up_over_goal
I’ll kid on I know what you mean.
Plea:
Can someone please provide me with a response to explain to a know-it-all (although not a hun) at my work that RFC is dead ? He won’t listen to me and keeps saying that Rangers plc is dead but the football club remains.
He also says that Clyde chose not to buy Airdrieonian’s history.
AAAARRRGH!!!!
greenjedi on 3 August, 2012 at 15:14
lol
glasgowghirl on 3 August, 2012 at 15:27 said:
The only response I can think of is to point out to your workmate that he is an idiot. Or is that not what you had in mind?
The Pantaloon Duck on 3 August, 2012 at 15:29 said:
glasgowghirl on 3 August, 2012 at 15:27 said:
The only response I can think of is to point out to your workmate that he is an idiot. Or is that not what you had in mind?
Problem is – he think’s I’m the idiot!
glasgowghirl on 3 August, 2012 at 15:27 said:
A Glasgow kiss should do the trick…
glasgowghirl
Ask him the 4 questions in my post at 15:08
HH
I would play the team that will face Helsinki on Wednesday tomorrow against Aberdeen, whatever formation that may be, eg 4-5-1
FF;
AM
ML
CM
EI;
JF
SB
VW/BK
JL
GS;
GH
HH
wonkyradar@15:05
Johnson on 50k at QPR? Categorical proof the world has finally gone mad!
No. The world officially went mad when Joey Barton got £70k a week at QPR + £5m signing on fee
Starry – these are reserved exclusively for Glasgowbhoy.
glasgowghirl
Ask him if it is the same club, then how come the debenture holders and those that had shares in rangers no longer do so.
tomorrow would be a good time to give Lustig, Kayal and one or two of the youngsters McGeouch/Twardzyk/Watt a run out. Rest Brown, Forrest and anyone else who’s not 100%, save them for Wednesday
ASonOfDan on 3 August, 2012 at 15:35 said:
glasgowghirl
Ask him if it is the same club, then how come the debenture holders and those that had shares in rangers no longer do so.
– tried that but he says the shares were in the plc not the football club
glasgowghirl on 3 August, 2012 at 15:35 said:
Ouch….
glasgowghirl
Clyde chose not to buy Airdrieonians history?
You should start by asking what that means. I take it he means Clydebank, and I take it he means the other way round?
When a company goes into liquidation, as they will soon, any organisation for which it was a holding company or trading company ceases to be. Yes, it can start again and trade in the same field under a different name, but is it the same entity in those circumstances? The history has come to a stop, the entity is different, they are a new trading company. They may rise/be rising again in different form, but Rangers are deid.
glasgow ghirl:
Couple of my favourites:
If you put an orange in a liquidator, it might taaste like an orange and be the same colour…it aint an orange
When your going to bury someone the men from the mortuary make it look like they are alive…they aint, still dead.
Oh and then point out that if they are still rangers why they shouldnt be punished for the crimes of the old club? Pick a side and stick to it you *insert appropiate insult*.
Hope that helps.
HH
glasgowghirl
The guy is obviously a nugget and I would just stop talking to him…
Patrick27
You want Harry Hood in as twelfth man? :-)
glasgowghirl on 3 August, 2012 at 15:27
The company is the club – one set of shares one AGM. Last year Craig Whyte’s Wavetower (renamed The Rangers FC Group Ltd) bought Murray’s shares in the club and only then Group, which was the majority shareholder, could be considered the holding company of the club.
At the moment the company – Sevco Scotland claims to have bought the assets of a soon to be dead football club RFC(IA) (which until today was still a SPL shareholder and member of the SFA).
On http://www.rangers.co.uk/ it says
” The Rangers Football Club, a trading name of Sevco Scotland Limited (No SC425159) Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow G51 2XD”
Sevco Scotland is trying to become a football club no matter what it changes it’s name to it will always be Sevco Scotland.
That’s why Sevco had to apply for membership for SFL.
That’s why they’re in SFL Div 3.
That’s why they are not eligible to play in Europe for three years.
Sevco Scotland Ltd. were formed on the 29th of May, 2012.
It’s a new club.
This isn’t a difficult concept to grasp.
Genius on FF looks to win the day for them:
“EBTs… The Rangers defence
How can you possibly prove a link between EBTs and success on the park. You would have to prove a correlation between spending more money on players wages and on-field success.
You would need definitive proof that…
more wages = more trophies
think of the amount of ‘dud’ players down the years that were paid
massive wages… but flopped.”
Afternoon Bhoys
Anybody else having problems with accessing the last page on the blog or is it just me :-)
HH
CRC
glasgowghirl
As someone on here once pointed out.
If I die and someone decides to move into my house, wear my clothes and call themselves TheSonOfDan is he me or someone just pretending to be me?