There is a spreadsheet on file at every club with the anticipated sale value of each player on it. This value often has nothing to do with how important the player is to the club, or even how good he is, it is a hard assessment of what the market will pay.
Kristoffer Ajer, for example, could end up at a tier one club next season, but his price tag will be inhibited by only having 12 months left on his Celtic contract. James Forrest is also a talent and has two years remaining on his current deal. James, though, will turn 30 in July. The time Spurs managers travel to Glasgow to watching his passed.
Younger players with plenty on their contracts are not assured money either. Ismaila Soro (22) has three years left on his contract but the spreadsheet at Celtic is unlikely to have a figure as high as we paid for him last year; Ismaila just has not played enough football to merit a reflective increase in value.
Market health is also a factor. There is seemingly endless supply of debt to those tier one clubs, but the game in most of Europe is on its knees. What would we expect from a French club for the likes of Olivier Ntcham, after the collapse of their TV deal?
Which brings us Patryk Klimala. I like Patryk, his willingness to show for the ball and bust a lung to get back and find space was a refreshing change of pace from much of what we watched this season. Various coaches didn’t think he had what it takes for Celtic, so his chances were limited and an exit increasingly likely.
We paid £3.5m for him; I expected to collect around a third of that when he moved on, not the entire sum we got back from New York Red Bulls. That’s nothing, to the £10m Bayer Leverkusen paid for Jeremie Frimpong in January, a player I wanted dropped and replaced. The keeper of Celtic’s spreadsheet has enjoyed updating a column this week.
I wonder if New York or Bayer want a goalkeeper with Champions League and European international experience?
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Podium an easy win today.
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Celts for Change 2021
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Open letter to the new CEO
Dominic McKay
Dear Mr McKay,
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Celtic Football Club and congratulate you on your new post of CEO, we sincerely hope your time with the club will be full of success both on and off the park, as we could not wish for anything more, all we supporters ever want is the very best for our club.
We at Celts for Change 2021 are not special supporters, our views are no more valid than anyone else’s, but we believe there are many thousands who feel like we do, but all our views are not reaching or being heard by the board.
Therefore, we are going to be as frank as we can be, and put all the views of the support to you, as with most clubs there are good and bad times, and looking from the outside, you would be forgiven for thinking what could be wrong with our club, but the club have lost a lot of fans over the last few years. And will continue to lose more, as they lose faith in their club and the game in general.
This is because of the inaction and failures of the club on and off the park under the tenure of the present CEO, as supporters of any sport will not continue to support a game that is rigged. The disconnect between the board and fans is reminiscent of 1994, something that we never thought would happen again.
You will have objectives set for you by the PLC, but the fans have some of their own, that have been ignored, which we will list for you under the following categories – football operations, football governance, and club persona. We will set out the failings as we see them first, and then the solutions for you.
FOOTBALL OPERATIONS
There has been no balance in the quality and experience of some of our managers in the past, to highlight this look at the average revenue over 2 full seasons that these two managers had, Ronny Delia £51 million compared to Brendan Rodgers £96 million, nearly £50million of a difference per season.
We have missed out on players because of numerous bungled transfers for small amounts of money that if signed, would have made an impact at the club, e.g. John McGinn, Fletcher, Toney, etc, etc.
We have on the other hand signed players for big fees that have contributed nothing to the team e.g. Marvin Compper £1million for 80 minutes, one alarming statistic is that from the beginning of the 9 in a row, we have spent over £34 million on players who never managed a full season of 38 games.
There has been an abandonment of the sports science, diet, data, and all round professionalism on the football side of the club, with key posts coming and going with whatever manager we have at that time.
FOOTBALL GOVERNANCE
There are historical failures that have been festering away like an open sore since 2008 and 2011, all from your predecessor’s time, we have listed them below.
The secret 5-way agreement, which Celtic accepted, but for some reason UEFA have had no knowledge of.
Failure to take RES 12 forward, now RES 11.
Evidence ignored that could have had the LNS Commission that legitimized EBT titles set aside.
The Traverso letter in 2016 calling Sevco a NEW club/company ignored including taking up UEFA’s offer to investigate.
No robust challenging of the SFA, SPFL about numerous referees not applying the rules of the game when it suits them, and acceptance that they can do this without any repercussions.
The speedy, and on the hoof sanctioning of our club and players, this season over Covid breaches, that have not been applied consistently at other clubs.
CLUB PERSONA, IDENTITY
Some of the actions and public statements from the club have been nothing short of embarrassing to the ordinary fan, and not in keeping with a large PLC.
Some examples are, hiring the last manager in a shower, not looking at any of the CV’s that were submitted for the same job; these were left in a drawer unopened.
Briefing the press against the club manager, and using a paper that mocked dead football supporters at Hillsborough, as its main PR outlet, is frankly obscene and deeply offensive to any human being.
Being seen to aid and abet the reappearance of a brand that thrives on hatred of our club, our ancestry and religious beliefs and all it stands for, as its core function.
Our club has given a casual nod of acceptance to all the crimes on the other side of the river, from tax dodging, to racism, to cheating, and the biggest crime of all, acknowledging that the liquidation in 2012 didn’t happen.
The use of Parks of Hamilton while its owner mocks our club, perhaps a small example, but it again just underlines the disconnect the club has with its fan base.
And finally but not least Dubai, well words fail us while the fan base were in lockdown trying to stay safe, someone at the club thought that it would be appropriate to jet across the globe just baffled us.
Solutions
FOOTBALL OPERATIONS
We supporters see Celtic as a football club not a balance sheet, and all we want is the club to hire the best available at that time in all departments.
Going forward your first remit should be a Director of Football, who will have full control over what happens on the football side, they should have vision and always be prepared for change, and open to innovation in the modern football world.
Secondly remit will be for the DOF to recruit a first team manager who has the quality and experience of O’Neill, Strachan and Rodgers, no more projects to save money are acceptable for a club the size of ours.
Equally important is the support network, this is inclusive of youth system, scouting, analytics, medical facilities, fitness and diet. This has to be a separate internal department, therefore it will not be affected by managers coming and going. That will mean it will be able to maintain a constant professional standard, and in the first instance a option could be a partnership with some of the Scottish University departments that specialise in these fields to help build up the knowledge base.
FOOTBALL GOVERNANCE
The club has to pursue all of the failings listed above, and make public statements about the secret agreement, rule breaking, tax evasion, tainted titles and new club status. This will encourage a greater take up of Season Tickets than would otherwise be the case if the club remain silent.
The club, to keep its undertaking to shareholders under Resolution 11 at last AGM, to engage with the relevant authorities and pursue and be seen to be doing so.
If this is not done it will haunt your tenure as CEO, and the sport will continue to be rigged, and what appeal will that have for anyone who has played the game, or wants to pay to watch the game.
VAR and FFP must be introduced, and its implementation monitored.
Please don’t forget the hero’s of the club that have fought the SFA,SPFL, during our history, Bob Kelly the right to fly the flag of Eire in 1952, Fergus McCann proving cheating by Jim Farry the SFA CEO over the registration of Jorge Cadete in 1996, and don’t forget the lying referee’s with Dougie-gate in 2010.
CLUB PERSONA, IDENTITY
Being a Celtic supporter means that you are likely to face resentment, discrimination, bigotry and racism in your everyday life, this in turn inspires strong and passionate commitment to this club; some even bleed green and white.
It also means that you join an estimated 9 million fellow fans worldwide, so we know that we never walk alone, and are part of something bigger; we have a communal identity and a common cause. Every time Celtic wins a game our suffering is eased a little and we can look on the bright side of life at that moment in time.
The club needs to understand that it is the only powerful champion of that community, and a focal point of their everyday life. The public statements from the club therefore have to reflect that, and stand up for them and the club itself, and call out any wrong doing, misconduct, and discrimination against it, because a lot of our community has no other outlet to do this in certain countries.
The review and cancellation, of all contracts with companies, who mock and despise our club and its fan base.
Our chairman Ian Bankier position is now totally toxic with the support and will remain so until he is gone, the other members of the board, some being there for a great numbers of years, are as complicit in the failings by their silence, and not holding each other to account.
There must be a reconnection with the fan base all season long and not just during season ticket renewal time.
The fans have invested £750 million since the club became a PLC and have post Fergus McCann’s era, had a growing lack of connection with the club, this has to be reversed and can be done so by doing the following,
Actively start updating current shareholder records to find nonvoting shareholders.
In addition, season ticket holders can be offered the chance to add say £50 to their annual renewal each year this will be combined and converted into shares and given to the Celtic Trust, this in time will lead to a reconnection with the club, which was always part of Fergus McCann’s original vision.
——————————————————————————————————————————
If you can achieve all of this you will remove all the barriers, that are reducing the fan base, and you can maximise the clubs potential with 100% support from all fan groups.
With all this achieved, it will also give all the fans a vision to buy into and believe in. The revenue will increase, the share price will increase, which will lead on to some of the projects that have been shelved during the downsizing to be realised, a 80,000 seated Celtic Park, the Hotel, the indoor training centre at Barrowfield, and the shopping centre.
This will in turn sustain and define the club for our Children and Grandchildren and many generations to come thereafter.
If you are unable or are not allowed to fix all of the above, it means that the game in Scotland will remain rigged, and there will be no way to achieve maximum support from us and many other supporter groups going forward, and this would be a heartbreaking waste of our clubs future potential.
Best wishes
Celts for Change 2021]
You’re Barkas mad, Paul
Nothing against the guy but honestly can’t remember a decent save from him, remarkable
Interesting letter from Celts for Change, some parts I agree with, other parts not so much. I never think it is ever a good idea to name individuals and also repeat rumours as fact (see John McGinn piece) in an ‘open letter’ it’s not fair on them, their families etc. particularly as they cannot be in receipt of all the facts.
P.S.
It’s the flag of Éire not Eire, one is a country the other means burden
Frimpong was brilliant business. I too thought he needed dropped.
Klimala was a baffling signing where we just got lucky. We’ll take it.
The gamble to retain our top talent until the final year of their contracts hasn’t worked (to state the obvious).
However, the upside is the huge reduction in the wage bill next season. And hopefully the challenges of the wider market will help us secure better players on lower wages. As ever with economics there will be upsides and downsides.
However we spend our money we need to find a better recruitment strategy (again stating the obvious).
P67 — More self delusion from PL wrapped up in CQN warm words.
No matter how others would value them we have the issue that we pay for far too much for recent talent.
The issues you highlight were out in force last summer yet we paid well over the odds for fragile talent without a coaching infrastructure to make sure they played their required part this season.
Regarding the future — why would KA stay with us?
Why would anyone with talent stay with us given the last 3 years?
DD’s ego and PL’s rampant stupidity have taken us to the edge.
There is no easy way back.
And then you have the basic question — why has JF’s reputation declined so much?
Looks like anther wasted week.
Celts for change 2021 👏
They did miss one thing. A whole (or nearly whole) new First Team that will again dominate Scottish football AND return some pride in Europe.
STIG FAE THE DUMP on 23RD APRIL 2021 11:17 AM
Hi, just on to wish The Exiled Tim and his Mrs all the best at hospital.
Bless you both.
Re the Saville pic that was an attempt at a smear of Galloway.
You have to remember that nobody knew anything about Saville’s antics until he died.
Did we know about Saville when he was being paraded around Celtic Park?
Of course we didn’t and neither did Galloway.
……….
NOT Correct.
There is a Video which is widely available in a youtube video of a TV Interview ( BBC ?) in 1978, where The Sex Pistols ” Singer” Johnny Rotten ( Lydon ? )”…OUTED Saville and the BBC.
Mr Lydon and/or Rotten also claimed that many in power at the BBC KNEW about Saville for years.
As for George Galloways Embracing Pic with Saville, the question is ” WHEN” this was taken….I would guess some time AFTER 1978, and if so…Gallaway either didnt do his homework…or he KNEW…and decided that the Stories about Saville did NOT Matter ?
I was there that day when Saville ran round the track at Celtic Park…but I certainly did NOT Applaud him as I didnt like him one little bit, a complete Weirdo and Ego maniac, talentless, unfunny CHUMP. whenever he was on TV…I tended to change channels.
P67 re your Moneyball Part 2:
‘Ismaila just has not played enough football to merit a reflective increase in value ‘ – yet most CQNers would have played him over slower, more out-of-touch names who seemed to be an auto-pick, even after announcing his defection to a rival. Soro is a player but, as with many, our coaches don’t know how to optimise that quality.
PLUS
‘What would we expect from a French club for the likes of Olivier Ntcham, after the collapse of their TV deal?’
Olli’s market value is as much to do with the mix of hubris and lethargy seemingly in the players character – and his own collapse in form – as it has to do with the collapse of media contract values.
I get the awful sense we’re being pump-primed for an imminent programme of downsizing.
Micheal Kelly warned of the day Celtic fans would be more concerned about share prices than results.
This article on spreadsheets & player value (which should be player price) shows that he was (almost) right.
That in itself shows just how far we’ve fallen under PL’s stewardship.
Disgrace & tragic in equal measure.
Paul67
Barkas is chilling
Happy Friday all!
Got the second Moderna jab on Wednesday afternoon. Smacked the heck out of me yesterday. Worth it.
John Lydon on Saville – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4OzI9GYag0
Pretty sure Johnny was a Trumper and Brexiteer.
I would have kept Klimala rather than Ajeti but I know nothing.
HH!
A number of factors go into how much you get for a player. How well coached they have been, for one (no need to expand on that one!). Champions League performances is another – look at how Dembele’s value shot up after the Man City game and the high fees Ajax got for their players after their S-F run.
So, not looking great for us, but not really surprising given the way we have been run.
Can we get the spreadsheet to do the paradise windfall when we’re all back in the stadium ?
The problem with open letters from groups is that they don’t cover all views, which again would be a issue for fan reps on the board, but at least they’re trying to convey a lot of what a lot (not based in anything empirical ) the support feel (if Timternet is to be believed ).
Do we get value for money from our current recruitment ? I’d say no. One thing that is true is that there is a major chasm between PL and the board and the support. Their PR mirrors the catastrophe of our season, like our defending at corners and set pieces nothings been done to address it. Not sure I’d use the word gutless but at times it seems that way.
Stig of the dump , kev welcome back my ol friend!
I’m away to watch Moneyball on Netflix (again) !
Stig fae the dump @ 11:17 am
Hi ya Kev!
CQN has many barriers but they cannot stop a determined guy who can hide his VPN😀
Paul 10m for Frimpong and 3.5m for Klimala is good business. I do think both will go on to have pretty good careers but it’s not guaranteed so in the current environment it was better to take the money and re-invest.
It is interesting that clubs in some newer leagues now have money and would be a good fit for some of our squad players (e.g. Rogic’s rumoured 3.5m transfer to the Middle East last year (come back in please) and Klimala’s 3.5m move to New York).
In Jan we had 19m in the bank. We will probably lose another 8m between Jan and June and up to 20m next year depending on season ticket sales. So our sales in 2021, starting with Frimpong,have to absorb circa 25m running costs and buying 10 or 11 players. That sounds hard but not impossible.
Out: Frimpong 7m (10m minus Man City cut), 1m El Hamed, 3.5m Klimala, Edouard 20m (23m – PSG cut), Ajer 12m, Christie 9m, Ntcham 3.5m, Rogic 2.5m, Hendry 1.75m, Boli 2.25, Shved 1.5m and Bayo 2m – Total 67m
In: 6 x 5m players (RB, LB, CB, CB, RM, CM LM) and 2 x 6m strikers – Total 42 m
BIG JIMMY
regarding Savile mind a mate sayin he’s a millionaire by gein million’s away didny know the other dark side though
Star above the crest.
i know you mean well, but quoting Michael kelly regarding Celtic…. not on your nelly.
our club would be a memory if he had his way
he put Michael Kelly above all else.
HH
Maybe if a big club can promise Barkas a defence in front of him , he might be interested .
Big jimmy
bang on re john lydon
he was outspoken bout it
“society” knew of Saville
freak
hh
GLENDALYSTONSILS on 23RD APRIL 2021 1:37 PM
That’s a fair point too👍
AIPPLE
To me, John Rotten-Lydon (a teen inspiration btw) has constantly played zig-zag; it’s his brand.
When everyone hates something, he’ll love it. And versa vice ;)
Whether it’s staying true to punk values or not learning to swim at yer own pace with the bigger flow…dunno.
I see a chunky guy trapped in the identity of a wiry younger ego.
Furggh tho; he didn’t half change rock n roll and for that I’ll forever be grateful to him.
PS Why do we consider it ‘good business’ to fail to turn some many rough diamonds into a sparkling gems?
How is Mr Bayo these days anyway?
Agree with the letter. It will have zero impact. The fat cats long ago hitched their wagons to the huns, at any price. There are no scruples, just dineiro.
They will be busy calculating the SB income and fall off and the size the club accordingly. It will be smaller and less successful, built around the uncritical element of the support. Sizeable chunks of the support will be alienated and written off as an income stream.
We won’t bring in anyone of the stature of Howe. It will be another compliant mediocrity.
The next decade will belong to the huns.
The club will remain profitable. That will be success for Desmond and his plc makeweights.
It’s all that matters.
It’s what they do. It’s what they’ve always done.
On Barkas.
Just how many saves has Bain made in the last 2 Hun games.How many saves against Aberdeen.Our goalkeepers very seldom have much to do.We are losing the vast majority of our goals to shocking defending of set pieces,with the scorer netting from point blank.Our keepers can go a couple of games with virtually nothing to do,except pick the ball out of the net,after another set piece shambles.Barkas has never made a howler,yes lost goals,but mostly for the reasons stated,and a couple of”Worldies”.
You don’t get recognized as the best keeper in your country,getting more than 30 caps,and playing for one of the biggest teams,by being a “Dud”.We have watched in horror this season at the shambles defending at every set piece.How do you think a new keeper feels.Language,settling in time,many factors come into it.Leeds the perfect example.The manager put the French kid in,and he was making error after error,at the beginning,they are up there with most goals lost.He stuck with him,now getting the benefit,and he is one of the worlds top managers.Too quick to write off players,especially foreign ones.
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL on 23RD APRIL 2021 1:06 PM
You’re wrong about the Ajax players, at least one of them. De Jong signed for Barca after starting 6 European group stage games over two seasons. He was already on the radar of every big club in Europe before that run.
That Celts for change letter makes some good points but it’s written in an amateurish manner and is speculative. The stuff about the sports science element is easily disputed. Once you start with false statements you lose credibility. Setting out what the new CEO’s objectives are is arrogant. If you want to complain then complain but don’t tell the guy what to do before he gets his feet under the desk. This is consistent with the output from fans groups for some years and why concerns are easily dismissed as unintelligent. We need better across the board.
We don’t sell players to established champions league teams, we have no history of it. We sell to middle tier European teams or mid table epl teams.
Big clubs go shopping at Ajax. Their record transfer fees received have been from Barcelona, Juvevtus, Spurs, Chelsea United and Real Madrid. Super League Clubs. They want CL players so the CL is a real shop window.
Smaller clubs go shopping at Celtic. Proof of CL pedigree will add to the value but proving yourself against teams like Milan, Lille and Lazio is just as important as scoring the odd goal while getting regular doings in the champions league
I’m confident that Frimpong and Klimala will both benefit from leaving Celtic. I suspect the former will look back on us as a useful stepping stone, the latter may think he’s just escaped purgatory, not paradise. Barkas may soon be able to tell a similar tale (though I agree, he looks feart of the ball!)
Destination Celtic is a far less attractive way mark on professionals’ (players and coaches) career map.
Some of that is down to events outwith our control. Sadly, still more was haplessly self inflicted.
‘You’re gonna need a smaller spreadsheet…’
JawsCSC HH JG
David17 @ 2:29pm.
Agree with much of that.
I don’t doubt the good intentions but it contained a fair bit of uninformed speculation presented as fact.
The reference to Fletcher – a missed transfer target from TWELVE YEARS ago – was, IMHO, just petty.
Hail hail
Keep The Faith
We’re Not Half of Anything
INIQUITOUSIV on 22ND APRIL 2021 9:42 PM
FC Copenhagen drubbed by Midtjylland ( who Sevco took 7 off last season ). Now looks as if Der Hun will be seeded for the Champions League. Their luck is amazing.
—————-
Yes indeed, and the next two seasons could see a massive power switch to Ibrox – something that only eight months ago was unthinkable.
We were able to free-wheel for long periods of the last ten years – it softened us so much that when a real challenge presented itself we weren’t up for the fight. That we were able to keep winning domestically whilst being trounced regularly by lesser lights in Europe, should have set alarm bells ringing. All this plus Covid formed the perfect storm that has allowed our Ibrox rivals, despite making losses every single year, to overtake us.
Our response will need to be more ambitious that it has been for many many years. I am not confident that we now have the financial clout to mount such a response.
GLENDALYSTONSILS
Have said that for a while now.Look at his stats.with Greece and AEK.
I don’t know of a keeper that would shine with our defence.
How did we miss out on fletcher because of money?
He said this week he would have played for the huns if he’d stayed in Scotland having been through their youth teams from an early age, before United picked him up at 15. Unless you want to go all the way through to our recruitment of under 8s
QUADROPHENIAN on 23RD APRIL 2021 1:55 PM
I hear you. I still believe he wants/likes to be champion of the working class man.