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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My ex boss, a truly leacherous, womanising, sleaze suddenly found God and became a born again Christian.
When reminded of his old behaviour he always stated “oh, but that wasn’t me, that was another person….”
The only person who believed that was him.
Thus it is with hunz. They will continue to think there’s some sort of mystical entity that is their club, separate from the PLC, LTD or any other business structure.
They will continue to believe it not matter what you say.
Let them.
We’ll just sit back and watch each nail as it hammers into the lid of their coffin.
This idea of walking around undeveloped swathes of parkland and bush with wearing-for-a-bet gear on, carrying small white balls and hitting them off metal sticks isn’t for me but hope the CQN Open is a ‘major’ success.
Well……as stated weeks ago,I’ve signed up to CelticTV…..nae Sky/espn. Also,I feel like I’m supporting CelticF.C in a better way,even though it’s at a distance. I hate givin’ that wretched old fascist,Murdoch,any money anyway.
And tomorrow,I won’t be watching the match live anywhere because my missus has a gig on tomorrow afternoon and she needs me to be roadie and to mhan up on the mixing desk for her and her vocalist.
And I’m totally confident that we’ll beat Aberdeen…..they are big lumps and won’t survive our guile and skill.
And now I’ll be able to watch a full re-run @ midnight…..my time of day,too,bein’ a night-owl by nature & design!
HH !
p.s. the change pot for we Oscar is fillin’ up rapido….gonna need a bigger one!
~~~~~
p.p.s. Having read back on a couple of posts I think that Celtic can break forward on the live games broadcast front and think about keeping even more income ‘in house’……especially if the corruption of the sfa extends further in some of the aspects of its sudden acceleration of ‘restructuring’ plans,mainly to benefit ‘the thems’.
Also,I’m now inspired to read Paul Krugman’s book. I do keep up with anything John Pilger writes…….how often do you hear that name any more in today’s celebrity driven propaganda that passes itself of as ‘news’? But he still writes great pieces. And can you believe that the great Paul Foot used to write for The DR? He’s wipe the floor with the corpulent fantasist,Jabba.
!!Bada Bing!! on 3 August, 2012 at 16:28 said:
greenjedi
Hope you dont mean the Springy Vaults…? :>
……………….
If IRRC thats Flynns (next door to the multis?), so not that one. Turnstiles sounds right though.
I don’t think Arsenal will be winning anything this season now that Kyle Bartley has been promoted to the first team squad. Talk about desperate!
Sevco got their license yet or is it another late night announcement?
greenjedi,
Do you mean the building that currently houses the Springfield Vaults? If so, that already has a Celtic connection (apart from the fact that my auld Dad grew up in the close). Jimmy McGrory’s sister lived there for many a year. Across the street, the corner building was known to the locals as Tates, It has no Celtic connection, as far as I am aware.
Fedderer breaks to 18-17 up and serving for match after 4h 20m
greenjedi,
You mention Flynn’s. I might have been wrong about the Vaults, because my Dad has often mentioned Flynn’s in conversation.
Any news from the massive sporting occasion rivalling the Olympic endeavours of Team GB?
FOUR!!!
ParkheadcumsalfordwhoisNeilLennonand PaulMcBrideandTrishGodman on 3 August, 2012 at 16:44 said:
greenjedi,
Do you mean the building that currently houses the Springfield Vaults? If so, that already has a Celtic connection (apart from the fact that my auld Dad grew up in the close). Jimmy McGrory’s sister lived there for many a year. Across the street, the corner building was known to the locals as Tates, It has no Celtic connection, as far as I am aware.
………………
All the buildings in between London Rd, Dalriada St & Springfield Rd
ParkheadcumsalfordwhoisNeilLennonand PaulMcBrideandTrishGodman on 3 August, 2012 at 16:47 said:
greenjedi,
You mention Flynn’s. I might have been wrong about the Vaults, because my Dad has often mentioned Flynn’s in conversation.
……………
It is officially the Vaults, but know locally as Flynns
Fedderer wins
SevcoScotland,or as Larrybhoy likes to call them,TheSS,and I do to,are going the way of their ignominious predecessor before a ball has even been kicked in league football.
Players they can’t afford,dubious finances,doubly dubious backers,doubly rabid on-message owner,doubly stupid huns buzzin’ like maniacal bluebottles around a corpse. The msm as PR dept. and on and on and on.
What WILL the sfa do when the SS encounter their footballing version of Stalingrad? Capitulate? Again?
Perhaps it is EBTs, perhaps PMTs or just a mild case of the DTs, but the word of the week around the ‘Big Hoose’ is:
Tetchy…
Yes, very tetchy…
You could even say, very, very tetchy.
With season ticket sales going faster than, than… well faster than last week, this bad atmosphere is a tad puzzling.
Could it be that Ranger’s rabble-rouser in chief is not happy with the prospect of tainted titles and corrupt cups disappearing?
Or perhaps the Cheeky Chappie is not happy with personal contract talks?
Mr Green indicated publically he desired a publicity coup by tying-up the rabble rouser with a new long term contract; he mentioned 25 years. However, the Sevco manager is reluctant to sign-up for the long haul; the Green Mile could be several faltering steps too far for Mr McCoist
Interesting that we haven’t seen any recent TV or media images of Sevco’s only ever manager and Mr Green.
Tetchy indeed. But let’s get back to the drama at the Park!
Sitting in the Sevco’s director’s box at Brechin last Sunday, back row, far left, was Mr Green’s new bestest best friend, one Jim Park, a former management executive at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd, he left the publishing house several years ago under a rather dark, foreboding cloud.
His business interests since then have been a shade uninspiring.
Perhaps Mr Green is unhappy that it is common currency in newspaper circles that Mr Park has been a close confidante of another fellow who attracts dark menacing clouds wherever he goes.
Yes, you guessed it, the one and only Craig Whyte.
Has Craig Whyte left the park, or is Jim Park Craig Whyte’s man at Ibrox Park?
LP-Sallys new contract will be 50k a year,very good for the 3rd Div :>
Paul67,
Gospel
One of your finest ever articles, I’ve said it a few times over the last year or so and I will never tire of saying it. You are the original and the Baddest Internet Bampot.
Keep doing what you do m8. Your work is appreciated All over this World.
The ‘speculate to accumulate’ mantra was a permanent feature of Davy Provan’s broadcasts on RC. No harm to Davy – he gave of his very best to Celtic. But he was always a bit besotted with rfcaswas and spectacularly wrong on this one. This didn’t stop a host of deluded Celtic fans opening their call with the dreaded words, ‘I agree with you, Davy.’
Similarly you get guys on here saying they won’t buy a ST because we didn’t sign X, Y or Z. That’s fair enough but they clearly want applause for what they think is brave defiant and noble.
The truth is that they are former supporters – nothing more and nothing less.
GB
‘Come On You Bhoys in Green’
Pause
Celtic End……….
‘Come on you Bhoys in Green’
Ten Men Won The League on 3 August, 2012 at 15:34 said:
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
That must be wrong ? 5m signing on fee..crazy
Need a bit of help here bhoys and ghirls. My wee brother is in Berlin and is looking for somewhere to watch the home opener tomorrow, any advice would be appreciated
HH
gsu
up_over_goal on 3 August, 2012 at 15:22 said:
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.
______________________________________________________________
I don’t think Neil will persist with the 3 at the back, although if he feels his players are still young enough and receptive enough, then that added string to the bow would work wonders for all of their game awareness in the long run.
I think we are going to see a lot more of Paddy Bhoy this season. Celtic are going to play with flair that will WOW Scottish Football, hopeffully. Get Pat passing that ball from the centre Neil as UOG says.
What was the comment a year or so ago from Neil about maybe having to adapt the thinking with regards the ‘robustness’ of the SPL. Watch the man develop Celtic the way it should have been developed a long time ago.
Five men have been arrested over alleged offensive singing at last weekend’s Brechin v Rangers match.
A 25-year-old man was held in Aberdeen on Friday and a man, aged 22, was arrested at Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway.
Two men, aged 27 and 28, were arrested in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, and a 28-year-old man was held at an address in Largs, North Ayrshire.
All five are expected to appear at Forfar Sheriff Court on 29 August.
The arrests were made by officers from the national football co-ordination unit.
——————————–
them brechin fans will never learn ;-)))))))))
the fabric of scotland
jam67
We need a number 10/25 for a bit of creativity in the middle of the park.
Juan Román Riquelme aged 34, without a club….
Fits in with Peter Lawwells plan of not spendng on a fee for older players.
C’mon Pedro get the deal done.
Stan Petrov on the mend……
……HH!
bsr
Correct :-) But blimey, after all the times we’ve done it, it doesn’t stop people roon ma bit shouting ‘Celtic’ when the GB do.
Greensideup
CELTIC COTTAGE, MARKELSTRASSE 13, 12163 BERLIN (Tel: [030] 792 4507)
THE BLARNEY PUB, METHFESSELSTR 4, 10965 BERLIN (Tel: 30 788 98 225) (Sky & Setanta TV)
celticbars.com
And I didn’t even realise you put Zaluska in (ya rascal). We need Fraser to get tip top for next week. His handling was rusty on Wednesday and he dropped it a couple of times first half.
Bloke
Ha – love that pause.
*Can’t spell the oh oh singy bit*
BSR,
thanks very much for the info, I will pass it on to him
HH
gsu
Ole TFPLG himself demands to know the names of the four men arrested for alleged
sectarian Sevco singing?
Greensideup 17:11
Fella from the excellent band Mogwai has a bar in Berlin, good chance it could be on there.
EN
Das Gift
bsr,
Will, William, Bill and Billiam. ;)
petec
Friday night ole CQN music night?
Two new flags at Celtic Park tomorrow…
http://t.co/PMZxkvVI
HH
Estadio Nacional
I listened to this excellent oldie for the first time in a while last night.
Estadio Nacional
HH G
EN-You could well be the first guy to mention Riquelme this Window…..I agree btw we need a playmaker in CM.
It would help if I added the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxMQ7v4fgUs