Our trip to Birmingham this week is thankfully less crucial than it may have been. Celtic (12 points) will not reach the top eight, even with a win, Aston Villa (13 points) are likely to make the cut with a win, not a draw. That puts all the pressure onto the home side, allowing Celtic a free hit.
Villa also have everything to play for at home. They are eight in the table, four points off an automatic Champions League spot, but that could change if Manchester City’s legal challenges crystalise before the end of the season, and English clubs earn a fifth spot, which looks likely.
The Birmingham club have a mix of American and Egyptian billionaire owners who bought into what was a sleeping giant and set about a restoration project. Interestingly, they came to Celtic for their commercial head.
Last year they employed Celtic’s then commercial director, Adrian Filby. Adrian joined Celtic in 2008 and transformed our commercial operation and income over 16 years. This culminated in the club’s current relationship with Adidas and retail partner, JD Sports. Commercial deals fall into the category of ‘you don’t want to see how the sausage is made’, but suffice to say that collaborative deals with Adidas and JD leveraged a lot more money for Celtic than would otherwise have been possible.
Every time our financials are released you and I discuss the importance of commercial income to our strategic planning. Ticket sales are more or less steady, European income varies widely, but commercial contracts allows the club to budget with some certainty for years ahead. For many years these deals brought in the equivalent of a Champions League qualification (although this year’s CL is likely to blow that equivalence out of the water).
Filby led what was by far the most experienced and successful commercial team in Scottish football. It is often a thankless task. No one really likes sponsor’s names on their shirt, but they put players on the field, just as our season ticket money does. He also took over the women’s team, concluding with their first league title.
Forget all of that, though. If any of you bump into him in Birmingham this week, the anecdote you probably want to ask him about is the Sydney Tournament. He was the man who declined the offer Newco’s James Bisgrove signed up for, eventually agreeing to a payment four times more than Newco. Bisgrove was soon promoted to Newco chief exec, causing much hilarity elsewhere in Glasgow.
There is now a Celtic commercial team band reunion underway at Villa. Kerry Keenan, our former marketing head who left in 2022, has joined Filby as VP of Marketing. The story of Celtic’s business and operational excellence seldom grabs the headlines, but it has been genuinely exceptional for a long time now. It is no surprise that aspirational English clubs want a piece of it.
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Haven’t posted for years but, can Jota play in the Champions League this season?
Thanks for the memories wee man,a Hunskelper Supreme, best of luck
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rblYSKz_VnI
Sayonara Sweet Prince ☘️ 🇯🇵
Kyogo will be a big loss – goodluck wee man and welcome back Jota
Sad to see Kyogo go, thanks for the goals and the success you helped to bring, good luck at Rennes and in your life.
Welcome Jota, hopefully his fitness is at a good level and he can play soon, that’s 2 players for left wing probably Palma will now move after Wednesday.
Find it hard to say goodbye to Kyogo. Imo, the best since Henrik. Wish we could have waited until the summer.
Hope he enjoys Rennes, because he isn’t of an age like Jota to come back in a couple of years.
Welcome Jota. It would be great if you can recapture the magic of your first time in Paradise.
We’ll be a bit stretched up front for Villa with the wee fella away and Daizen suspended . Jota not available either , although I’m not sure if he would have been chucked straight in anyway .
Jota Press conference SSN 4pm
Thank you Kyogo. Never heard of you when you signed. And now -Never forget you.
Hunskelper supreme.
thorismund- next round,I think you can change 3 players
Thankfully “rumours” about Kyogo failing his medical turned out to be careless whispers.
I didn’t know what to do with meself this weekend with no game to watch so resorted to watching auld Celtic videos on Youtube and I realized how lucky I/we have been to have watched some brilliant Celtic men.
I cried watching videos of Tommy Burns and seeing the joy of playing and scoring for Celtic brought to him. Watching the passion of Big Roy running up the field to the sound of feed the Bear. Wee Murdo, thundering shots from 30 yds out, or playing the ball out wide to Davie Provo with the socks rolled down, and another great cross coming in for the rubber man Frank McGarvey to get on the end of. Or one of my favorites as a wee Bhoy, Big Tam McAdam hanging from the crossbar at Hampden. Watching Danny McGrain elegantly running with the ball and timing his tackles to perfection. Paul McStay, wow, not much more needed to say except how lucky were we to have him in our team. Underrated players like George McCluskey scoring and running away with both arms raised. Charlie Nic both occasions playing for us. Big Mick McCarthy running through wee McCoist, and then the big Jamaican Paul Elliot that was Virgil before Virgil arrived, though we didn’t hold onto him long enough. I mention these players as I saw them in the flesh before leaving for America in 1994. These guys loved playing for the hoops. Ture story, iwas on the 240 bus going into training one day at Celtic park, and being injured, I was very early. The bus passes this guy riding his Racer bike on the highway just assed Uddingston,feckin peddling like a maniac, rain jacket on. Im in the treatment room with wee Brian Scott and in walks bih Mick McCarthy and he places his bike on the outside of the dressing room. He used to call me “little Un” in his thick Irish Yorkshire accent::)) What great players and characters we have been blessed with that every generation of Celtic supporter can reflect upon with great happiness. Not to mention being coached at S form training by wee Jinky or Bobby Lennox or Bobby Murdoch. the dads used to watch on in amazement at their heroes growing up. I think it might have been one of the only times that the dads stayed out and watched training instead of going into the Social club at Barrowfield to neck a few down. I write this because our younger generation has lost Kyogo to another club and will feel that he is irreplaceable. As Calmac said, Celtic make heroes and new heroes all the time. The wee mhan will be missed and it will take time, but someone will emerge.
Sorry for rambling my friends, thats what happens when no game.
Sean
Jota,welcome home.Born to wear the Hoops.
Now,get him up to match fitness for the play offs.
KT ,hopefully next before the window closes.
Who knows who else.
Upwards and stronger.
All the more maddening,Meadas stupid Red,with Villa now having injuries.Need big Adam to turn up.
4-4-2, maybe.Villa strong,middle to front.Need bodies there.
We Jota get outta this place.
We don’t care what The Animals say CSC.
One for the kids there.
The hun celebrate Kyogo leaving then Jota returns. It’s the hope that kills em.
Boondock Saint
A fine post
HH
boondock saint- to be reposted every day
Sean
Great post. 👍
I agree with everyone that Kyogo leaves a hole i the team and in our hearts – so glad we’ve got Brendan, he will make things right.
When Matt left we arguably got better – we will again after Kyogo.
私たちはあなたがいなくて寂しいです
We all miss you!
HH
Cheers, Bada Bing!
If Rodgers leads us to victory vs Aston Villa he find himself replacing Ange.
Well said, Darwin.
Weeron
I think Brendan will sign a contract extension this week, and KT will return
If carlsberg done transfer windows.
We’llseeCSC
Welcome home Jota.
“Every soul on this earth has the right to live,”
Those words were spoken by a 94 year old survivor of Auschwitz…
Today, watching the displaced Palestinians trudging north to most likely find their homes destroyed and family and friends gone, is another reminder of the horror of fascism…
WBC
Man’s inhumanity to man never ceases to appall me. To me nothing has been learned from the horrors of the Gas Chambers at the level of those who can change World history, they talk a good game organise food medicine education etc etc but never address the core issues at the route of conflicts, if you treat people as lessers to yourself you are likely to reap what you sow.
WEEBOBBYCOLLINS on 27TH JANUARY 2025 4:08 PM
“Every soul on this earth has the right to live,” Those words were spoken by a 94 year old survivor of Auschwitz
Today, watching the displaced Palestinians trudging north to most likely find their homes destroyed and family and friends gone, is another reminder of the horror of fascism
*And tangerine heid has suggested that they relocate from their ancestral homeland to Egypt and Jordan
“You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” Trump said to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday.
“I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change,”
Last week, handing jobs out to pals was a measurable measure of decline. This week, bringing the band back together is a shining example of blinding Brummie brilliance.
Has to be said, this recent Glenda Slagg approach to writing a football blog is quickly becoming confusing to the easily confused(i.e. me).
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Deniabhoy on 27th January 2025 10.05AM
Previous article, thanks for the read. I’d enjoy someone bursting the Mailonline paywall to bring over Keown’s weekend opinion about how Celtic are actually pure, dead rubbish so they ur.
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Say Hello Jota, Wave Goodbye Kyogo. I hope 2025 is just as good for us as 2024.
TT
He is a problem in this ,he said Gaza has a beautiful coastline beaches etc obviously seeing the business opportunities it presents, Right wing Jews want to re-settle there and the Palestinians can just move, that is not conducive to a 2 state solution.
“!!BADA BING!! on 27TH JANUARY 2025 1:38 PM
https://x.com/celticfc/status/1883870862392357114?s=48&t=4qngReqcybvOWPPXccPzUw
Brilliant picture”
As good as I have ever seen. Thanks.
But he also has his eyes on Greenland and was disparaging about Canada.
GENE on 27TH JANUARY 2025 2:19 PM
Nice one :-))
jota interview on sky now, he is one happy happy bhoy..
i am still baffled by kyogos decision making, why not hold out for a top club or the english league ?
or at a push USA for the world cup alingment.
LEFTCLICKTIC @ 4.03
Ditto 👍☘️
Money very likely, Kyogo says he wanted a new challenge, well its a relegation battle he faces, the length of his contract is only 2.5 years.
Sturt Kettlewell resigns as well boss