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| Podcast 153: Scottish Football Is Pish |
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| Written by Eddie Pearson |
| Saturday, 27 August 2011 00:13 |
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The feed for the podcast can be found here . Remember you can subscribe via itunes here .
You can listen to and download the latest podcast here. The feed for the podcast can be found here. Remember you can subscribe via itunes here. Shortest info ever. To get in touch with us regarding any comments, suggestions, criticisms or wildly inaccurate rumours you'd like to see addressed on the next podcast, or if you'd like to contribute with an mp3 you can email, leave your comments below or phone the hotline on 0141 416 1067. |
| Last Updated on Saturday, 27 August 2011 00:53 |






Comments
Gary Hooper had a better goals to games ratio than Jelavic, so the arguement really doesnt hold up
Im beginning to think had we won 5-0 I would still be hearing "Samaras doesnt have an heart"
I feel there has been a little bit of an over reaction, yes we should be beating that team easily, and I think if Big Dan doesnt lose his head and pull that stupid tackle we would have went on to do such
We cannot let the media get us worked up, they did this last christmas too, heaping pressure on a manager after 3 bad games is never a good idea
What was said on the Podcast was akin to Lawwell sold players to get the operating expenses down so he would get his bonus, utter rot.
That we bought quantity over quality, straight out of FF.com
Last season we made £100,000 profit, oh for the MON days, bottom line and its nothing to with who the manager was, before the start of that era, we could NOT afford to do what we did in paying Larsson £40,000 a week and buying the Suttons Hartsons Lennons and co we didn't have enough income to cover what we did!
I belive as I have said elsewhere, DD thought we were EPL bound, if he had known for sure that we would never be allowed into the EPL, then those signings and the wages needed to attract them would not have happened.
From season 1999-2000 to season 2005-2006 our losses were a total of £45.432m. Losses ranged for -£2m+ the least we lost in a season to £11m+ our worst. Season 2002-2003 Uefa cup final season we lost £5.7m. In those years, the Nike deal all the massive kit sales the CL the Uefa cup, the near 60,000 crowds. All the income that generated, we still lost money season on season.
Those years and signings built a unreal expectation in our support and left us in a financial mess. The bottom line was our income was not enough to cover what we spent. From 2005-2006 until today that is the reality of what we could and can afford, unless we get into the CL. Last season average crowds were around about the 50,000 mark, season ticket money kit sales and all the rest, we did just better than break even a £100,000 pounds better.
The bottom line for any Celtic manager today is if we don't have CL/EL money, then if you want to buy we have to sell, if we do get into the CL then we go into profit, if we had made the CL last year then we would have been looking at a £10m+ profit.
Those financial facts were not true back in MON's time, we did make the CL we did make the uefa cup, but we never made a profit. DD let it run until he came to his senses and realised that we were never going to get into the EPL.
I belive if those business mates around him had told him before the start of 2000 that Celtic would never get into the EPL, then the signings of Sutton Lennon Hartson Thompson and co would not have happened.
As it stands our running cost are about the £52m+ mark our income without CL money is about the very same. Without CL money the only way a PLC could get money to spend on the type of signings we need is to go into debt to do it.
The real facts of seasons 1999 to 2006 : Losses, 99-00 -£5.985m : 00-01 -£11.190m : 01-02 -£2.974m : 02-03 -£5.794m
03-04 -£7.471m : 04-05 -£7.733m : 05-06 -£4.285m
And people wonder why after his initial spending spree we never bought anyone like it again. Those figures are the reason we never built on the Uefa Cup Final team/squad of 02-03. We could not afford it , the truth is there , we never could even before we started.
Like Rangers , our dream that became the reality of the MON years was built on money we did not have.
A lot of what you say is very true and backed up with facts - there is no arguing with that.
The bottom line in all of this though is football is like no other business. We are in a catch 22 situtation. As St Anthony says - if we don't go out and buy some players that will fire the supports imagination and interest, we will stagnate. If we lose the league this year, due to no investment the fans will turn away in their droves. Either we get into debt by spending money and trying to win the league or we get into debt by doing nothing and increasing the apathy amongst the support.
Over the last 3 years the game in Scotland has become poorer and poorer, the standard, the finances everything. I do not think by spending money we will make money. That ship has sailed. I would be surprised to see any 1 of the Old Firm get into the group stages of the CL in the next 5 years.
It is a tough one, there is no easy solution, pretty much damned if we do , damned if we don't, but I would rather we got into debt by signing a player or 2, rather than the apathy route, which as St Anthony rightly said is the biggest danger to the club right now.
Essentially we need to, as Fergus would say 'get a reality check'!!!
we are now seeing headlines like "BOND BETWEEN MANAGER AND FANS WEARING THIN AT CELTIC"
dont doubt for a minute the media will jump on this and try everything to put pressure on Lennon
football fandom is a fickle thing
Yes the SPL is in decline and has been for years. We cannot attract top quality players to our club so we have to lure potential and hope we unearth a diamond. Our buys so far - Kelvin Wilson looks good and he will need to be if his partner at the back is Big Dan. Last year he looked like a journeyman; on reflection he is flattered by that description. Wanyama - plese NL do not try and tell us this lad is going to make one iota of difference to the first team. Who was the last 19 year old to come into our team and make an impact !! If he was of that quality he would have been bought by an EPL side. Adam Matthews - looks to have potential. Lets hope Mohammed B can deliver.
St. Anthony I am thinking about your take on the Sion at home match. You thought we showed to much respect and did not get in amongst them. If we really believe that we can tackle our way into the Europa League then we are decades behind the world in our football philosophy. Sion were technically a better side that us....not great by any stretch ; but better than us. And so it has been in Europe for the Last 2-3 years. Until we start to play the game the correct way home and away in the SPL we will continue to wallow in a mire of mediocrity. Our present side do not play good possession football. We hit to many hopeful balls towards the corners flags for Hoops and Stokes to chase. Good sides retain possession and move forward with numbers and multiple options around the ball...like Barcelona. Now I know we are not Barcelona but surely we could at least TRY to play that way at home against St. Johnstone etc. As fans we should be demanding more from our club and our coaches.
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