If anyone tells you we are about to bid €7m on a guy who scored fewer league goals than Billy McKay last season, and who was signed for €500k last summer, don’t listen to them. Nonsense like this is 180 degrees away from strategy. Where would such a player’s sell-on value increase to? It’s just not going to happen, nor should it, it would be a vanity purchase, the likes of which old Zsa Zsa himself would consider.
The last season we have figures for (season 2011-12), when we had Europa League football, Celtic lost £7m. Since then three significant things have changed:
We’ve sold Wanyama and Hooper for over £17m (before deductions).
We got back into the Champions League and earned an additional £20m.
Season book sales dropped and this season cost £100 less than before.
Cutting £100 off the ticket price will bring in £4m less than last season. All other things being equal (which they will not be), this would give us an £11m deficit before Champions League income and any trading surplus. In short, to retain equilibrium, we need to reach the Champions League group stage more often than not. Money from Uefa is not so much a bonus, it is necessary to push us into the black.
I know we covered this last week, but £17m for Victor and Gary will not, on its own, equate to £17m for new players. Gary and Victor were both on their first Celtic contracts when they left, neither of which was near the top earning position (although both were offered top earning contracts).
We’re not going to spend £17m on transfers and be able to pay the new players from the money saved by not paying Victor and Gary. Instead, the boost to the football budget from these sales will almost certainly disproportionately increase wages, leaving a lesser amount for transfers (if we sign four players for £2.5m each, we’ll probably have to pay each more than the average of Victor and Gary’s wage).
Knowing where they came from, I reckon Victor and Gary cost approximately a combined total of £1m p.a. in wages, the bulk of which would have gone to Gary. If we bring in four players, each costing multiple millions, they could easily cost us an extra £2m per annum in wages, or £8m over their four year contracts.
In short, there is enough money available to buy several good players, for decent money, on high wages (for Celtic). This is a good, sustainable, place to be, but it is not transfer window nirvana. We have moved from a position of carrying a perpetual loss to being able to afford an increase in football budget without splurging into debt to fund it.
This isn’t a detailed budget analysis, there are lots of other variables (McCourt, Rogne etc off the wages, not Murphy, whose wages were off the books already), non-football budget cost inflation, considerable drop in one-off ticket sales (20k seats for £42 each at Rangers games twice a season) and commercial income from 2011-12, variations in season book sales (I hear they are marginally up on same time last year but still down on 2011-12).
The big challenge for the club is to ensure the playing squad is good enough to qualify for the Champions League group stage, and to compete when there, more often than not, without indulging in casino football every year.
We stick to plan, scout and recruit players within budget and with high potential sell-on values. €7m on a striker from Heerenveen? Better stick it on black.
The Kano Foundation have around 40 bucketeers for their annual drive at Celtic Park on Sunday. They could do with a few more. If you can do your bit, get in touch: contactus@thekanofoundation.com.
Check out the 1254125 Great Scottish Run page. I plan to keep this page updated with progress on the event and other resources. When you sign up, let me know and I’ll promote your donations page.
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Modern Texting outside in the sun is rubbish
My Dear Kojo….
As Ah Hiv Said Before….
There Is A Player….In Efie…..
Unfortunately….He Hiz Demonstrated On Several Occasions….
That He Is Worryingly ‘Distractable’….
And Cannae Heid The Ba’….
Tae Save Himself…
When He Goes Up For A Ball…..
He Looks Like A Tortoise Retracted His Heid Back Inside The Shell….
And As For The Goal Celebration Sommersaults……..
BANNED….BANNED….BANNED….
Take A Leaf Oot Of Victor’s Book….
And Nae,Nae….Cuddlin’…
Right..? Right..!
JIMMYQUINNSBITS
Nothing wrong wi tripe,full stop.
Just gotta know how to cook it properly.
Finding a butcher who sells it nowadays is the biggest problem.
Sure I remember reading that there are only three tripe dressers left in the country,maybe we should import Lady Gaga….
BT
Delay the next hospital trip until August next year?
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS 15:07 on 30 July, 2013
That wireless is indeed a dangerous place … and that’s before we even get to your ole favourites Queen…
blantyretim
I see the High Court Judges making your job hard for you!
Why does that not surprise me?
Bmcuw
Whit? I tell you, had childlike been up and running when I was a wee bhoy, my wee maw would have been investigated for feeding me that…well…tripe. Old fella loved it.
Child line !!!
BT
If the hospital stay is due to current illness ask your employee to link the absences so it is treated as one absence not two.
Celticmac
They agreed that it was discrimination but didnt change it?
European court awaits I think..
employee should of course be employer….
blantyretim,
Getting the pin out, you will walk unaided out of the hospital.
Back to work in a week to ten days, or if you are working from home in a couple of days, no big deal.
My dear,dear,dear,friend…The Singing Detective
Pinkety. Pinkey, Pal.
Tony Watt,is the Only Lonely Linwood Striker we Have.
He is a Natural in that Position..
Fur..
Unlike, Hoops.. who ,invariably, when he received the ball, when his back was towards our Opponent’s Goal.. Hoops .. would RETURN the ball ,to the Guy who jist Gave it tae him…
Yes! He did jist that!
Go Figger!
Howevah…….
Tony,when he receves the ball.. with his Back towards oor Opponent’s Goal..
Tony Kin, Kn Burl… tak oan his Man..and More often than Not..
Leave that Man in the Dust..
And in a Central Attacking role.. once Tony, gets Past that Man..
Then it’s..
“Katie, Fur Jasus sake, Bar that Flippin’Door!”, Time . Fur oor opposition’s Panicked
Defense.
Ah cannot fur the Life of me.. Understaun
Why Neil.. Has NOT NOTICED that Tony Possesses this RARE Qualiteeeee.
Nice Chatting.
Kojo
Still Laughin’
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/aug/12/tripe-the-lights-fantastic
This fella also mentions flash-fried liver. The only way to eat it,chianti and fava beans notwithstanding.
Bears no resemblance to the stewed shoe-leather served up in our nightmares of school dinners.
Cheers scottishleaf.
It will be to remove the plate and pins inserted in April. Surely same illness?
blantyretim
Think they asked the Minister to rewrite it to make it sound legal!
Inside The SPFL @AgentScotland 1h
Celtic are monitoring long time target Abdisalam Ibrahim whos just been freed as expected by Man City, seen as possible Wanayama replacement
Sharp as a tack this guy, must have read my post on here about 2 hours ago!
STEINREIGNEDSUPREME
Aye,but I never bothered wi being the cool dude. Just the one who was right eventually!
BMCUW,
I draw the line at tripe that tastes like tripe. Mibbe it was the way my old granny cooked it – she could burn water. But the smell….
The tripe, no ma granny
JimmyQuinnsBits 15:05 on 30 July, 2013
My callos experience was back in the early days of learning the ole Spanish.
I thought I had ordered prawns – imagine my surprise.
Two bottles of wine later and I still had the taste in my mouth.
Gambas ya bass.
TWISTS N TURNS
It’s defo an acquired taste!
79caps
My mate Alan will be chuffed to hear that!
Robinbhoy.
A man of experience. O))
Cheers hope to be fully off crutches next month.
Btw
Glassford03 in berlin on a family holiday at the moment. Sure you could persuade him to go for a beer tomorrow and watch the match
Seems to me that comments on Efe are quite revealing re the nature of the person posting.
There is no doubt that Efe makes both a positive contribution and mistakes in games.
Some see the good stuff and ignore the bad;
Some see the bad and ignore the good;
Some see both and decide overall.
JJ
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS 15:20 on 30 July, 2013
Radio Ga Ga you might say…
The Eagles many many years ago started me off on a long and generally rewarding journey via Gram and Emmylou and ending up with the Louvin Brothers and George Jones.
So I’ll always be grateful to them, even if they did lose the plot after ‘Desperado’.
So, when do Dunfermline buy there history, or have I got it all wrong, it’s ok SSB will clear it all up tonight, ( snigger )
BT
As it’s a follow up to complete treatment for the existing illness/medical condition I would certainly argue you it should be linked and therefore treated as one period rather than 2.
All my opinion of course and I’m not any kind of expert on these matters but I have experience of asking my employer to link illnesses with the support of my GP so that it was one period of absence as opposed to two (I tried to come back to work too early and suffered a relapse)
DBBIA,
Or with Desperado… They were either smokin “I can’t believe it’s not baccy”, or they should’ve
The Eagles?
Enjoyed their first two albums.
Things started to take a sinister turn when Bernie Leadon (an ex-Flying Burritto Brother of course) left and Joe Walsh joined.
Gave up on them after that.
HH!!
Rumours on twitter press conference to unveil the new signing has been cancelled bhoys!
Scottish leaf.
Thats why I won’t go back too early.
Cheers..
I’LL let you all talk Celtic now..o)
My dear,dear,dear..friend…The Singing Detective
Ah must Admit. Ah hiv Not Noticed that ..
aboot Efe..
The part . where you hiv said that Efe canny Heid the Ball, cleanly.
He seems alright tae me ,in that Department.
But, Ah do agree,that Efe, kin be Liable tae Linger at tad too Much.. oan the Ba’.at times..
And He ,in doing so.. Creates, unwanted and Definitely..UNNEEDED Trouble for Himself and his Colleagues, whenever He does this… whilst, he is Performing in a DEFENSIVE ROLE.
He must Pull Up his Socks ..and get with the Program.
Kojo
Still Laughin
2-0 to Shakter now, 10 mins to go
BT
yes I have learned not to go back too early! :-)
I remember years ago an old mate of mine came home steamboat Willie, he woke up on the couch in the morning wife gets out of bed usual tyrant mouth battering he got, then she said an you never ate yer dinner in the oven, he said naw a jist had some of that tripe brae with a couple of outsiders an butter he said, whit tripe brae she said? The tripe in the pot on tap of the cooker says yer man, …..away yi go ya drunk that’s the weans piishy nappies a left steeping, true story, ohhhhh we had a lot of fun with that one, good old days ;)
B/T -I would regard this as same illness; no operation no pins no need to get said pins out.
..of course in unlikely event you turned up for appt in Sevco 3rd strip I might take a different view .
steinreignedsupreme
Its desperate when a dish isnt what you expect it to be. I remember once i had this bowl of muesli when i was supposed to be eatin the hamsters nest for a bet