Celtic didn’t hit the heights of last week’s win at Tynecastle against Inverness last night but it was a remarkably controlled win nonetheless. The game could have been over as a contest in the opening minutes but as the lead didn’t extend beyond a single goal the contest retained an edge.
Daniel Majstorovic was incorrectly penalised when he correctly challenged for the ball 25 yards from goal but the Swede’s lax initial response to the forward ball created the situation that resulted in his red card. Dan had a painful game against Inverness last season but after they were reduced to 10 men Celtic were far too composed to let Inverness’ numerical advantage count.
We’ve spoken about the value of goals from midfield in recent seasons. Kris Commons lit up Celtic’s season when he arrived in a flurry of goals last year but Joe Ledley’s efforts from the back post this season could prove to be even more important.
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Murdochbhoy – a great find and so important, the unionists are revising the hell out of history. I work with one , he comes out with some classics – ‘the GAA are sectarian, not letting RUC join’ and something about ww1 Irish soldiers being shunned when they got home but never ever any comment on his own community.
Good morning CQN from my 2nd fast train this morning.
…and the Cry was NO to newco…..
hh
bjmac
Tailondonkey.csc
SSN……Rangers reject new calls for Handshake Technology.
bjmac on the train
Everybody is entitled to their opinion.
To say Celtic don’t need Rangers is to deny what feeds football culture
Michael Grant Chief football writer, The Herald
It first appeared in a cartoon showing a down-at-heel guy on the street bearing a sandwich board which said “Patronise The Old Firm”. Underneath was a cynical reference to “Rangers, Celtic Ltd”. The message was clear: these supposed rivals were happy to privately work in cahoots to commercially exploit and dominate Scottish football. The cartoon appeared 108 years ago.
Back then the two clubs could meet up to 10 times a year in various competitions. Very convenient. Fans got wise to what was going on and rioted when the 1909 Scottish Cup final replay ended in another draw, necessitating a second replay and supporters having to turn up a third time for the same contest.
A century later one thing remains unchanged: these clubs make money for each other and they know it. They are bitter rivals who have gotten into bed together for four joint sponsorship deals in the modern era. They took the coin from CR Smith, NTL, Carling and currently Tennents because it made sense to support each other. They could get far more money together than alone.
“A lot of people think Celtic and Rangers need each other, well at the minute we don’t”, said Neil Lennon the other day. There are plenty in the Parkhead stands who seem to agree. The internet and Twitter is full of fans who can’t contain their glee at the idea of Rangers’ troubles leading to their obliteration.
They’re counting down the days until the plug is pulled. There’s humour in some of the jokes about the tax men and it’s all fair game in a rivalry as intense as the Old Firm’s. But if there are plenty of supporters who seem to mean it when they talk of “partying when Rangers die” there are just as many who realise exactly what it would mean for Celtic if they did. More trophies, yes, but swift downsizing, monotony and boredom. Every time Celtic sit down with a transfer target of any pedigree they hammer home the global interest and unique experience of playing in an Old Firm derby. The SPL is a helluva hard sell without that.
One former Celtic player told me the other day that he’d spoken to about half-a-dozen Parkhead old boys and every one of them wanted Rangers to survive. Punished, yes, but still around to fight another day. These are guys who recognise that some of the great peaks of their careers were goals and wins in Old Firm games. They understand that the glory is in beating bitter rivals, not wanting them wiped out. They can see way beyond the immediate Schadenfreude of seeing Rangers in the grubber.
To say Celtic don’t need Rangers is to deny what feeds football. Supporters need to be nourished by tension, drama, and the edge which comes with ups and downs. They need real competition. Are some Celtic fans really, honestly saying they don’t want any more Old Firm games? That they never want to watch their team beat Rangers again?
Where’s the appeal in watching them plough through everyone else to win the championship by 25 or more points every season? Scottish football has enough of a credibility problem when only two clubs ever win the league; with only one it would be a laughing stock and a total non-event. There would be no return to the thrilling days of the 1980s, when Aberdeen and Dundee United won leagues. The financial landscape has changed within football and even a smaller, downsized Celtic would be far too strong for anyone else in the division.
The Sky Sports/ESPN television deal is essentially predicated on four Old Firm games per season. Without them, they would want to renegotiate at best and possibly pull out altogether.
Clubs already struggling to pay the bills would suddenly face significantly reduced income. Less revenue means lower wages and consequently poorer signings and less money to invest in youth development.
Fans aren’t daft. More would turn their backs when they see that the football is poorer than ever.
Rangers shouldn’t expect to find many mourners at Pittodrie, Tynecastle, Easter Road, Tannadice and the like. Supporters of those clubs would see their removal as dramatically improving their prospects of winning the Scottish Cup or League Cup. They would see it as another European place being freed up every season. It would end, too, the significance of the 11-1 voting structure within the SPL which effectively gives the Old Firm the power of veto on major changes. Losing the Old Firm game? As far as they’re concerned, who cares?
But if football fans start to wish death on other clubs, even hated rivals who stand in their way of winning things, the game is up. If Rangers lose their tax appeal, their offence would amount to financial doping and they will deserve to be absolutely hammered. But big clubs are there to be loved and hated. That’s part of the theatre. Rivalry is sustained by reacting to – and looking for a reaction from – the other lot. Celtic and Scottish football could live without Rangers but, boy, it would be as dull as dishwater.
Morning all,
Monday HackWatch
So jabba’s got the week micked off with an ‘exclusive’ back page commanding, screaming headline ‘NOW GERS BOOT KING’
Lucky (or should i say unlucky!) if this ‘exclusive’ contains more than 300 words, lazy journalism at its rank rotten worst.
No to Newco
HH
‘Gers star’ Steve Davis’s birthday party had to be cut short the other night whilst playing “pin the tail on the donkey ” as Kyle Laffatme was losing too much blood.
SSN…………………….Neil Lennon has confirmed to the news desk that Kelvin Wilson was in Celtic’s back four on Saturday.
Why is there always a place for Scott Brown in Celtic’s midfield?
There remains a tendency to be drawn to every outbreak of controversy, and a defiance that is expressed through aggression and posturing, but Scott Brown has re-established himself as the central figure in Celtic’s midfield.
Richard Wilson The Herald TUESDAY 17 JANUARY 2012
Some of his team-mates might have been more prominent at times this season, and others are more adept at aspects of the game, but Neil Lennon is only the latest manager to consider Brown an essential figure.
Celtic supporters are still quick to grumble about Brown, unless he is involved in belittling or persecuting opponents. They make comparisons with Joe Ledley, a more accomplished passer, Victor Wanyama, a more imposing presence, Ki Sung-Yueng, a more creative player, Biram Kayal, a more all-rounded midfielder, and James Forrest, a more blistering talent, and find that Brown does not measure up.
Lennon, though, cherishes him. As soon as Brown was fit enough to return to the starting line-up after nine weeks out with a recurrence of his ankle injury, the captain was restored to the midfield. Even if accommodations have to be made, the manager finds room for Brown. In his own mind, this is not an act of compromise for Lennon, since he recognises the unique qualities that the player brings, but he still has to find a way to integrate him.
Mostly, this has been on the right of a midfield four, where Brown’s hard running and forthright nature can still impose themselves, but allowing better suited players to fill the central positions. Brown craves a role infield, but is still able to inflict himself on the game. With Kayal injured and Ki having drifted out of the starting line-up, Ledley and Wanyama have begun to look like a well-balanced and effective central midfield partnership.
While Forrest is recovering from a minor knock, there is little consternation for Lennon, but the winger’s emergence as an attacking force this season, and his potential to develop into a leading player, means that he, too, will be a regular in the side. Yet, while any of the other midfielders might find themselves on the bench on occasion, Brown is all but guaranteed his place.
Lennon relies on Brown because he sees the worth in the player’s assertiveness, but also his energy and drive. Some of his touches are less refined than they might be, but even then Brown has improved in recent seasons. Craig Levein, the Scotland manager, remarked that the player’s short passing has become sharper and more accurate, at the same time as his urge to hit long, ambitious deliveries has become subdued. There is also a greater awareness to his positioning and his understanding of the wider geometries of the game. Reduced to his most meaningful contributions, Brown is the driving force for Celtic, he sets the tone of the side’s displays and provides momentum. When he was a young player breaking through at Hibernian, Bobby Williamson and Tony Mowbray – his first two managers – were captivated by his brazenness and his refusal to be intimidated. Lennon and Alan Thompson, the Celtic first-team coach, can both testify to the fierce assertiveness of Brown, having clashed with him during their own playing days.
There is less rashness to his play now, but he has not relinquished any of that unabashed attitude. As the two teams lined up for kick-off at the last Old Firm match, Brown stood on the halfway line and stared balefully at Lee Wallace, Rangers’ left midfielder. He has done the same to Gregg Wylde in previous meetings between the sides, and the sense is of a combatant standing his ground.
Brown can still be culpable, and the way he became embroiled in a vocal feud with Hearts players following the 1-0 victory at Celtic Park month, after the Tynecastle side had missed a last-minute penalty, told of a nature that can still be impulsive. Yet team-mates and managers appreciate his hard-headedness. If a cause is to be fought over, Brown is seldom anywhere but at the forefront.
Lennon, in the same way as Gordon Strachan, Levein, Mowbray and Walter Smith, who was keen to take him from Easter Road to Ibrox, likes Brown’s attitude. He is still maturing as a player, but a greater tidiness in possession and more composure in the final third can be encouraged. His pace on the right allows the full-back behind him to overlap without worrying about the space left behind, but Brown can also surge infield, with or without the ball, to chance the pace of Celtic’s attacks or to add his presence to the middle.
At Hibs, Brown was most effective on the right of a midfield three, and a similar shape would work with the players Lennon chooses from. Forrest could still play a wide attacking role, while Wanyama and Ledley would provide the balance to Brown’s furious spirit in the middle.
Now married and the father of a young child, and having signed a long-term contract extension at Celtic Park, Brown is in a place of contentment. He is only 26, and is working under a manager who considers him so vital that he admits to seeing something of himself in the player. “There is more to Scott than just snarling,” Lennon said recently. “He gives us more impetus in midfield.”
Supporters do not always acknowledge Brown’s work, but those who work alongside him are never short of praise.
The removal of King might not be much in the way of news but it will hurt the loyal brigade. The media may have been negligent in ignoring Whyte’s shady past but they have been criminal when it comes to whitewashing King’s past. When he looked like the only buyer for Murray, they did their upmost to suggest that despite being guilty of massive financial fraud and tax evasion it would be ok because he had squirreled away him money in some offshore bank and was ready to save Rangers.
HMRC would really warm to him as the backer of Newco . . .
ICT player asking Scottish officials to be fair and honest. Well.I never…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inverness CT skipper Richie Foran backs Celtic appeal over Daniel Majstorovic red card
Feb 13 2012 By Craig Swan
Celtic defender Daniel Majstorovic is red-carded against Inverness
RICHIE FORAN last night called on officials Steven McLean and Stuart Macaulay to be “fair and honest” and rescind the red card dished out to Celtic’s Daniel Majstorovic.
Inverness Caley Thistle ace Foran believes the shattered Swede was the clear victim of rough justice during the weekend clash at Parkhead.
Majstorovic was sent off at the start of the second-half during his side’s 1-0 win after appearing to make a clean challenge on Thistle dangerman Jonny Hayes.
But stand-side assistant Macaulay believed he spotted an infringement as the Highland winger was in the process of breaking into a one-on-one situation with home keeper Fraser Forster.
Celtic are today set to launch an appeal to the SFA fast-track system and Majstorovic’s case has been backed by Hayes, who confessed he was not fouled by the defender, saying: “It’s hard to tackle without contact. He got the ball so was unlucky.”
Foran now feels the only course of action is for McLean and Macaulay to admit the error to the SFA.
He said: “If they have video evidence, then I’m sure the linesman will put his hands up.
“If he’s a fair and an honest guy he’ll say it was the wrong decision.
“It’s a tough for the refs, with the pressure on them, especially in big games.
“It was the linesman who gave the decision.
“It’s a shame for the lad sent off, especially when he has won the ball and it’s a good tackle.
“I don’t know if a player can influence a decision, but hopefully there is video evidence because I don’t like to see players sent off for the wrong decisions.
“We have had it this year and it’s hurtful. Hopefully, it will be rescinded.”
Foran, meanwhile, has cleared Celtic ace Georgios Samaras of wrongdoing for his part in the dismissal of Steve Williams later in the contest.
The Greek, who was involved when Greg Tansey was sent off earlier in the season for an alleged elbow, tumbled in the corner to land the ICT centre-back a second booking and visiting manager Terry Butcher was not impressed.
Butcher said: “My player has been booked and leaves a leg in. Samaras goes down and my player is sent off.
“Maybe it’s a coincidence. I’m just stating a fact that he was involved. Draw your own conclusions.”
Foran, though, says Samaras was decked, although he didn’t agree with McLean’s decision to issue defender Williams’ first yellow for a tackle on Gary Hooper.
Foran said: “It was clever play by Samaras in the corner and it was a fair and deserved yellow card, the second one.
“The first one wasn’t. He just kicked the ball, it was a fair tackle.
“You’re just not allowed to tackle any more, sadly.
“I do not know where he got that yellow card from but the second one was an honest and right decision.
“It’s not even a bad tackle. The crowd shouted so maybe that affected the ref but the second one was a yellow.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fair play to him,though I fear he may be a tad disappointed.
As I said last week, the biggest danger to us winninf the league is our players walking on to the pitch thinking the game is already won.
Saturday was Exhibit A.
With a couple of exceptions, the players didn’t work hard enough, didn’t put in the required effort and where lucky to get away with 3 points due to Inverness being unable to hit a barn door!
One for DBBIA and quite a few others,from The Sun.
I did try to c&P but the picture wouldn’t come through,and without it there is little point to the article!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/4124648/Mad-Mens-Christina-Hendricks-leads-the-fashion-pack-at-BAFTA-awards.html
Top of the morning to you all from a decent sort of February morning in Fife.
The various hypothesis on what happens if Rangers are a/ b/ or c/ when the tax appeal tribunal publish their findings is great fun, but in all of the speculation about the affect of a particular outcome –coming back from the match I heard Traynor and Grant on my car radio float the compromise £10 deal— there is one thing that is never discussed—the damage to Celtic in facilitating Newco.
No one seems very concerned about the flight of fans from Celtic F.C. if Newco is waved through and and to my mind this is the biggest worry our club has.
With a biased SFA and refereeing fraternity it is still worthwhile following Celtic because it makes it all the more enjoyable when we do triumph against the odds—and the cheats.
I don’t want revenge for Rangers cheating but I want justice and not the sort that is being trailed by Traynor, Grant, Keevins, et al whereby Rangers after a 10 point deduction can carry on where they left off—if they are still found guilty on appeal.
But if as croppy paraphrased Dempsey so well on here—“the cheats have won”, then what would be the point in following Celtic? Or for that matter any of the other clubs?
Scottish football would become WW Wrestling on grass.
£10 million is the figure being bandied about.
TIN HAT ON TIME
I am one of those Celtic fans who DON’T want to see Rankers disappear into Div 3.
Parachute them into the SPL as a new co, we have nothing to fear from them.
Provided they are hit with the correct level of penalty, 25 point deduction for every year they used the EBTs, should ensure they and others get the message.
I don’t know about others but I love the derby game.
There’s no better feeling when we win and I always blame the ref when we lose. Think that’s called a WIN WIN?
10 years of penury.
10 years of financial castration.
10 years of trophyless, half empty stadium and unused passports would be enough to assuage my anger over their complete disregard of sporting integrity. Actions that have almost killed the game I love, especially at youth level.
To those that think sectarianism will die with Rankers demise are sadly mistaken.
A 10 year dose of humility is required.
I’ve booked my ticket for the next ‘Old Firm’ game, have you?
Just a word to say how much the Sweetheart, the Sweetheart’s best mate, and I enjoyed the ole Quiz.
I should apologise to my esteemed team mates for my less than stellar performance but there are more pandas in Scotland than questions on country music in the CQN Music Quiz.
Without Dick Byrne’s unsurpassed knowledge of Hi-NRG we might really have struggled.
Calm, cloudy and mild here in North Ayrshire this morning.
Neil Lennon is (and always will be) a Celtforlife (*O*)
………
Why should a new club be punished for the actions of another club that legally must have nothing to do with them?
A Newco will start with a clean slate and cannot suffer any points deductions what so ever.
I’d love to see the Huns obliterated from Scottish football.. But I’d settle for a level playing field and them having to pay back their unpaid tax bill…in fact I might enjoy their long humiliation more than a one off shaming.
Greenjedi
Talk sense!
It would be a provision of entry!!!
No likey? No entry!
Celtic plc Interim results
By: on 13 Feb, 2012 08:22
CELTIC plc have released the interim results for the six months to December 31, 2011.
Key Events/Highlights
• Turnover increased by 3.1% to £29.27m.
• Operating expenses increased by 3.3% to £28.39m.
• Profit from trading of £0.88 (2010: £0.92m).
• Profit on disposal of intangible assets £3.15m (2010: £13.20m).
• Profit before taxation of £0.18m (2010:£7.06m)
• Period end bank debt of £7.05m (2010: £9.09m).
• Investment in football personnel of £4.44m (2010: £9.00m).
• 16 home fixtures (2010: 15).
• Currently first in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League
• Continued participation in both domestic Cup competitions.
CHAIRMAN´S STATEMENT
I am pleased to report on our financial results for the period of six months which ended on 31 December 2011. The key highlights are set out in summary form on the introductory page.
On the park, the momentum that was lost at the start of this football season has been more than recovered. At the date of today’s report we have a lead in the SPL, which we look to carry through to the end of the season. Our entry into this season’s UEFA Europa League Group stages was unorthodox, involving several visits to UEFA and eventually the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We were successful in our claims and the team also showed that we deserved to be involved, performing well against top European opposition in a difficult group.
European participation contributed to our turnover for the half-year, which increased slightly (3.1%) over the previous year, by £0.88m to £29.27m. This increase offset reduced revenues from pre-season tours and merchandising. Both are areas where the marketplace domestically and internationally remains very challenging. Like many with a presence in the high street, we continue to see difficult conditions driven by a squeeze on household incomes.
Operating expenses also rose slightly, to £28.39m (3.3%), in line with the increase in turnover, with our profit from trading before asset transactions and exceptional operating expenses at £0.88m (2010: £0.91m) virtually unchanged. The second half of the financial year is expected to follow a similar trading pattern to that experienced in previous years. Our period end bank debt of £7.05m is around £2.0m less than at the same time last year, and remains manageable, and well within the Club’s facilities.
At this time last year we reported a profit from player transfer activity of £13.20m. This year, the comparable figure is considerably less, at £3.15m. The key dynamic driving these interim results and our financial performance for the remainder of this financial year is our player investment and transfer strategy. We invested £4.44m in the first half of the year and have followed this with further acquisitions in the most recent January registration window.
We can confidently say that the strength and depth of the player pool now available to the Football Manager is better than it has been for several seasons. This has been a conscious decision that the financial discipline of the past has allowed us to take. As a result, we have been able to enjoy the virtuous trilogy of being able to keep our best players, build and develop significant value in our player pool, and see improvements in football performance.
Although we have a clear short-term focus for this season, we have not forgotten our future; it is very encouraging to see our youth players holding their own in the Next Generation tournament, the rising presence in the first team of talented young professionals identified through our scouting system and Youth Academy, and increases in the numbers of families and children coming to watch them.
Finally, it would be remiss of me not to pay tribute in this statement to our Football Manager, Neil Lennon. In the early part of this season he faced an uncharacteristic run of poor results in a calm, professional and resolute manner, and with unshakeable self-belief he has put us in a strong position to challenge for all three domestic trophies.
The bond between this Club and its supporters has seldom been stronger and as we move into the remainder of the football season, there is much to look forward to.
Ian P Bankier
Chairman
February 13, 2012
I don’t know how CFC SPL will play the situation when and if it arises. My concern is that it will be a business devotion guided by CEO. I don’t trust his judgement…
My feeling is ‘what’s best for Peter Lawwell often competes with what’s best for Celtic in the decision making process. Ok when they are one and the same thing but when they are different…I have less faith.
Celtic Interim Results out?
Cue negative headlines/spin from LL; take it away boys…..
Neil Lennon is (and always will be) a Celtforlife (*O*)
………..
To accept those conditions would mean they accept they are legally linked to Rangers FC and would set a precedent that the HMRC and every other creditor would accept as an early Christmas prezzie.
The only way for them to legally prove they are unconnected is to apply for the new space into the SFL that would be created.
GREENJEDI 0855
That’s a very good point.
If the huns are voted in as a newco but subject to a penalty of a certain number of points for a given number of seasons,they will certainly appeal it.
And they would win the appeal,for the reasons you state.
nd result would be no punishment at all,and a lot of (false,because they knew this would happen) hand-wringing from certain quarters,and stout cries of “We did what we could”
Well,doing what they can is nothing short of banishment to the SFL,Div 3 preferably.
Nothing else is good enough.
Neil Lennon is (and always will be) a Celtforlife (*O*) says:
13 February, 2012 at 08:49
—————————————————–
Can’t say I disagree all that much to be fair. However if sporting integrity is to be maintained then Div 3 start is only LOGICAL outcome.
Davidopoulos says:
13 February, 2012 at 09:09
Neil Lennon is (and always will be) a Celtforlife (*O*) says:
13 February, 2012 at 08:49
—————————————————–
Can’t say I disagree all that much to be fair. However if sporting integrity is to be maintained then Div 3 start is only LOGICAL outcome.
……….
Its not the logical outcome, its legally the only outcome. Anything else is just telling every club that its OK to cheat and we will let you away with it.
greenjedi says:
13 February, 2012 at 08:55
Why should a new club be punished for the actions of another club that legally must have nothing to do with them?
A Newco…cannot suffer any points deductions what so ever.
++++++
I agree. And by the very same token a ‘NewCo’ should not benefit from the perception that they are the ‘OldCo’. By this, I mean that any NewCo must apply for membership of the SFA and SFL like any other club would, and not be able to use as part of their portfolio anything referencing or alluding to the defunct club. Essentially they should be treated in the same manner as a club I might start this Friday night.
To treat them otherwise would be ridiculous. Unless any such preferential treatment was publicly and accountably paid for by means of a points tariff – three successive promotions ‘costs’ about 230 points – you can guess where this is going. It should cost any team wanting to buy a place in the SPL the same number of points as it would cost to be promoted by sporting merit.
And that, above, is the sporting cost of a place in the SPL, but what about the potential additional moneys earned by skipping (at least) three years penury in the lower divisions? Is it fair that a new club gets the additional tens of millions?
Whenever I think of the parachute into the SPL, and I think everybody, fans and hacks alike, should ask themselves this question:
Would it be fair for Celtic to start a second team with immediate entry to the SPL?
I am sure Paul67’s about to post his analysis of the financial results, but I CANNOT wait until then to taker issue with Mr Ian P Bankier’s remarks about the Celtic support. “The bond between this Club and its supporters has seldom been stronger…” clearly he has never visited THIS site, I tell you this the board’s a disgrace so it is….
I’m against newco being parachuted into the SPL but some posters are a naive if they think our board will be voting against letting the newco in the SPL. Our board will vote for what makes the most money and not heed the support. I wouldn’t be surprised if they already had behind the door talks with SPL and tax dodgers and gave support for newco entry. Some think if Dr Reid was still our Chair he would come out against entry of a newco, Reid only did what he was told to do by DD.
I only wish our board had the same attitude to the Darnel as George Galloway who said on the Friday night handover on Talksport when asked by the preceding show host that the demise of the Huns would be bad, George said bye bye why should I care for a team who for fifty years of my life wanted to be up to their knees in my blood.
Good riddance to the manky bigoted mob!
greenjedi says:
13 February, 2012 at 09:14
——————————————-
Right. Yes. Agreed. Parking that for one moment to look at the very basic issue of sporting integrity (forget any arguments about phoenix companies etc), the fundemental point is that it would be illogical for SPL/SFA to make any allowances for a Newco. Remember that is their sphere of influence. I am well aware of the wider legal implications for Rangers should they try to cling on to their Rangersness.
Neil Lennon is (and always will be) a Celtforlife (*O*) says: 13 February, 2012 at 08:49
“I’ve booked my ticket for the last‘Old Firm’ game, have you?”
Aye… :o)
Had a wee look at FF thread on our interim accounts.
In summary, their posts are a variation on:
A. Celtic are a MUCH better run club.
B. Who cares what “The Bheggars” (oh, the irony) accounts say – WATP.
C. They must be fiddling their books.
On the basis they hate it I love it.
Well done Peter Lawell and the Board for putting an excellent young manager and cracking young team together in the face of massive pressure from us fans, massive financial doping from our dysfunctional neighbours from hell and massive cheating from the game’s authorities.
Remarkable in the circumstances.
I salute you.
SwanseaBhoy
Let me be very specific here with regards to what i posted on the board view of admitting a newco
This is what i posted
“Worryingly , i was told today that the Celtic board are now beginning to think that it might not be viable to keep Rangers newco out of the SPL
That is a 360 on what i was told previously”
I suggest that those who are indulging in a hissy fit over this read it , and digest exactly what was said.
It does not say Celtic will vote a Newco in. It says Celtic are having concerns over viability.
With regards to Ralph Waldo Ellison, you really need to be less selective if you are going to criticise me. A board malcontent…….on what basis?
Because I have said numerous times the Ceo is remunerated excessively.
Because I have said he has made operational mistakes
Guilty on both, I think any reasonable person would find it hard to disagree about either statement.
However why ignore the many times I have praised Peter Lawwell for his handling of the SFA challenges we faced last year
Why ignore the many times I have posted that on the Newco issue I trust the board.
Let me be explicit on the board and Newco.
I have no issue whatsoever with Peter on Newco. I believe he is capable and can be trusted to look at what is ethically and morally correct, and can and will relate that to the health and welfare of Celtic
Peter is however not the only director at Celtic. The board will be balancing what is correct with what is achieveable.
My view, my personal view, is that the board should not vote for Newco to get entry into the SPL. Celtic can adjust it’s own business model if there is a financial impact.
My worry is that some on the board are considering whether that is viable.
greenjedi – the remaining SPL clubs can impose any entry conditions they want on a NewCo if they are going straight in. NewCo will not be able to appeal anything as they will be told take it or leave it.
I am against them getting in but saying this can’t happen isn’t true. The SPL is a closed shop and the rules on entry are down to a vote and any conditions can be attached that the other clubs see fit.
greenjedi says:
13 February, 2012 at 09:06
Voting a Newco back into the SPL would require a re-writing of the rule book. Although it would be seen as a punishment for dirty Rangers, a year on year points deduction could just be included as a general condition for a team entering the SPL by means other than promotion from Div 1. In the same way, the 3 year UEFA ban would affect them because they had gone bust but it applies equally to all new teams (I think. Source required.)
Anyone at Celtic Park who has an input in whether Celtc vote for or against a newco admission to the SPL would do well to remember the old maxim-
NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED.
Helping them out in their hour of need will only increase their sense of resentment towards us,even more than voting them out.