18 Aug 2015 19:23:37
Reading somewhere that one of our scouts has said VVD will go soon! And that we won't pay anymore than 3 million on a player! U heard anything ED think the guys called David moss! If this is the case,especially not going above 3 million for a player then I must say this worries me greatly! And a bit pissed off! Guess this top class mystery striker is a load of crap! But I knew that already!
{Ed007's Note - Perhaps Mr Moss will find himself taking the job as Sporting Director at Leeds that he's been linked with, I can't see Pedro taking too kindly to this.}
18 Aug 2015 20:54:04
Yeh Lawell wouldn't take to kindly to the truth would he! Like I said ED,if this is the case then as usual the fans are being taken for a ride! Expected to fill out the stadium 2morrow which will happen! While some fans think if we get in the CL we'll get this mystery striker or 3-4 million centre halfs! All the while Lawell knows it won't happen! I'm sure I remember someone say we could go for a 6-8 million pound player! The guys name escapes me but! F***n joke! What u think ED?
{Ed007's Note - I don't really get to agitated at the transfer fees we pay, it's more the wages we offer players that grinds my gears. There'll still be some comings and goings before the window closes but anyone thinking there will be a big money spent is going to be bitterly disappointed.}
18 Aug 2015 21:49:09
I'm more than aware that decent money won't be spent! I just hate this bollocks about mystery strikers and Lawell in Croatia negotiating for 4 million pound centre halfs! It's total garbage! We'll be trawling about in the bargain basement once again! Wether we make the CL or not!
{Ed007's Note - The lies and spin are becoming an annual event.}
18 Aug 2015 22:19:01
Totally agree ED!
18 Aug 2015 22:26:15
Absolutely crazy to think we would pay any more than about one third for any replacement player. If Everton get £30 m for Stones does anyone think they will pay £10m or more for his replacement . Of course Everton get the £60m+ every year from Sky . How can Celtic survive if we don't make money on transfers . Anyone who doesn't realise this mustn't have been paying attention .
The price we pay for a player is a very poor second in importance to the ability of the players we buy in . Our tasks for our scouts etc may be difficult but most of us have been reasonably happy with what we have recruited for most positions , with the possible exception of strikers .
18 Aug 2015 23:24:30
Forgive me mate but isn't the strikers the most important part of a team? It's been one average striker after the next! And how's it crazy to expect if we get 12 million for VVD that we shouldn't want a good bit of that money spent on a replacement! and Celtic survive by fans buying thousands of season tickets every year and buying 3 different strips and other merchandise and European packages! And record breaking deals from new balance! Like has been said a million times before,we're not askin for funny money to be spent! But the money being spent on players is getting lower every year! While still charging us the same for season tickets and merchandise! The fans deserve a bit more for the money theyr asked to shell out! Remember it came from lawells own mouth about 8 million pound players! None of us said it! And if u can honestly tell me if we reach the CL and we don't spend some of that money on a decent level of striker then your kidding urself on pal! Like I said to ED,sick of this bullshit every year round about the time they'r wanting us to shell out money on these qualification matches!
19 Aug 2015 05:34:00
Yet we all sit back and let PL get away with it by buying season tickets, merchandise and anything else they can squeeze extra cash out of us.
PL is in no way good for the club. Some people are that naive they think because he turned a good profit for selling Wanyama and Forster, but if you take into account the losses we have made on players like Bangura etc its not really as good as some may think. Anyone with any sense would see that scouting system (JP) is failing club and should be replaced.
19 Aug 2015 07:01:31
I can see a cheap replacement and a couple of loans even if we qualify. No takers on Boerigtter or Stokes yet?
19 Aug 2015 09:02:01
Hearing that Celtic are after Michu, would love this to be true.
19 Aug 2015 10:05:47
The team will not progress with the current transfer policy and wage structure. So take VVD for example, we buy a player for £2.5m, sell him for what £12.5m, then get a replacement for £2.5m. Somebody please explain the sense. It's just a cycle. We're being mugged a bit as paying fans.
19 Aug 2015 12:01:29
Can I ask the folk on here who seem to me more aware of our running costs and the in and out's regarding the money side of things ( ed007 , jimtim , dh88 ) are you saying that after tv money , running costs , sponsorship, ect ,are you saying that we are left with a surplus of money? Or are you saying we should be speculating to accumulate? I'm not having a go , I really have no clue as to how much we take in and pay out , and if there is a surplus, where are you saying it is going?
19 Aug 2015 13:20:47
Fab1 all you have to do is look at the official accounts published each season mate
19 Aug 2015 14:04:57
Just the numbers published fab. And ball park figures in my head. The wages we've cut and transfer fees from the end of last season I work out we're actually going to be saving a few million this season so far. Add to that this seasons ticket sales, new sponsorship deals, 3 new kits and training wear etc. Just doesn't add up. Who knows where it's going. But you don't get many clubs going for CL by trimming costs and not spending at least a few million on a striker. Aye, speculate to accumulate. Say what you want about Sutton but his latest column hits it on the head for me. Say we qualify for CL, then sell Virgil for £10-15m. And don't bring in anybody anywhere near that value. What is it saying? It's a big slap in the face.
19 Aug 2015 15:14:00
Guys as far as I can see from what I pick up from here and scanning the papers that if we make a profit then it will go to paying off debts , is this not a good thing? If we are in debt , have we not already been spending more than we earn? Are you saying we should be spending even more than we earn? If so is this not a very dangerous path to go down? Or are you saying we should be getting more value for the money we do spend? If so why is it lawells fault, should the manager and the scouts not be getting the hard time? After all do they not pick the players we sign . Like I say not having a go , just genuinely interested if anyone has answers.
23 Aug 2015 13:09:38
Hi Bhoys, first blog to the forum but have read many times. Its clear there's an overwhelming sense of frustration with Celtic's signing policy. The quality of the playing staff directly results from a mix of financial policy and the performance of the scouting system. TV revenue is a vital element of Celtic income but the risk is it can fluctuate so much. 1.5m from domestic tv is a shocking poor return for a club with the fan base and stature of Celtic. Based on viewing audiences, it should be 70-80% of prem league income. The champions league is the holy grail financially but the problem is its never guaranteed. 25 mil if we beat malmo. 1m from Europa cup if not. The ticket sales and merchandising is generally steady and this defines the wage structure. If Celtic had 8 million domestic tv and automatic entry to group stages as champions every year its a whole different ball game. At present there is a financial reality for Celtic. Due to the lack of guaranteed future tv revenue they can only afford to buy players by selling players. I've a financial background and live on my ability to aquire assets at low cost and sell at high. Football players would be the most horrendous asset to be trying to trade up on. They might appreciate (VVD) but they definitely will depreciate. Selling a 10-15 mill player every year and buying a number of players totalling 7-8mill, selling on at a profit and reinvesting to build a champs league team is model but how many of wynyams or VVDs are we guaranteed to produce? The problem I Celtic are a huge fish is a small pond, our squad value is easily 10 times that of Aberdeen. We're the only team in Scotland who can spend money on players! The Beast across the city has been sleith with thy mighty sword. But we also lost our old firm monopoly on tv revenue. Without that beast our ability to produce revenue as a league diminishes every year. Remember the mighty goliath who summoned the beast as a financial monster who would tear Europe asunder and win the European cup. They were on the up and up, money was no obstacle for the financial genius who would build an invincible blue empire for the chosen people just as hitler has promised the 1000 year Reich for his loyal band of followers! They both took huge risk and look where both ended up!! At Celtic we have a special club with a culture and history akin to anything Barca or Madrid can claim! We're proud of our roots and exist as a club that celebrates and embraces our identity and ethos. We were not the depraved beast that bellowed hatred and proudly announced its total distain for a club that represented a foreign tribe with their despicable flag and probably ran by the anti-Christ himself in Rome! The Celtic football club stands for equality, compassion and charity, respected all over the world as a former heavy weight champion who still punches above its weight in Europe regularly and forces visiting giants to gaze dumbstruck in awe of the passion and pride erupting from the terraces and send the greats away with the dream of once again entering the legendary amphitheatre where the mighty lions of Lisbon once vanquished all pretenders to their throne ruled supreme over all they could see! Can this club be risked by unsustainable short term acquisitions in order to grasp a horizon that can never be reached?
Martin O'Neill, the last of the bruces, pulled our phoenix from the ashes and restored our place at the table of Camelot. After years in the wilderness he brought us back to the place we belonged. At the battle of 6-2 he struck a blow against the forces of darkness from which they would never recover, in panic they summoned a demon from the north with the last of their borrowed gold. But the demon was met an irresistible force of nature in the shape the Swedish Knight. As their Dutch rommel surveyed the carnage that had befallen his mighty panzer armies the fallacy of the spending began to set it. Now that fairy tale has another bit. The bit where o'neill had summoned giants from the south. These giants broke the clubs wage structure to shreds and ultimately the board had to face financial reality. The books had to balance. Our raids into europe were very profitable but alas to infrequent. Our club is thriving in the most toxic league known to man. Hopefully rangers will return and help boost revenue, competition and attendances for Celtic. Peter Lawell deserves great credit for stabilising our financial situation and maintaining our utter dominance domestically while still realistically expecting to show case our club in Europe. That is the reality we face. There is only one reality in football and that is financial reality. Would rangers fans have allowed those signing and the miserly fingerprints they left on Europe if they knew the fate that awaited the pride of their nation? Aside from wrecking Manchester they went out with out a whimper. This should serve as a lesson to Celtic in the danger of dictatorships and blind ambition. Peter Lawell gets the picture, he knows his name will be forgotten eventually by the fans but he will not be remembered as the man who allowed the last empire in Scotland to fall! Long live the empire. Long live Celtic! As Maximus said in Gladiator, long live the dream that was Rome. It failed. Long live the dream that IS Celtic! May it never fail!