A very fair sporting advantage

Yesterday UEFA published the figures from season 2016-2017.

It detailed what payments had been made to clubs who had participated in the Champions League and Celtic received €31,740,000.

It should be noted that this does not include match day revenues or payments from sponsors.

I’m told from an impeccable source, that when those other revenue streams are added then the global figure then Celtic earned €48m in Europe last season.

This is a level of financial muscle that no other club in Scotland can come near.

Of course, Celtic are in the UCL Group Stages again this season.

This revenue allows the Parkhead Club to sustain a football budget that is many multiples of any other side in the SPFL.

Today the treble winners from last season just edged past Neil Lennon’s rejuvenated Hibs.

It was a tough contest in the second half with Moussa Dembélé being the decisive factor with two goals.

That now makes it SIXTY domestic matches unbeaten since Brendan Rodgers first walked up the Celtic Way.

The cup holders will now either face Motherwell or Sevco in the final.

It will take many inexplicable officiating errors on the day to give either side a fighting chance against Brendan’s Bhoys.

There are some within the press box who will whimper that Celtic have a massive advantage over everyone in Scotland because of the financial disparity as highlighted by UEFA’s published figures this week.

For the avoidance of doubt, that monetary gap was achieved by hard work on and off the field since the summer of Seville.

In 2003 Celtic were in a debt spiral by being forced to compete with EBT FC at Ibrox.

We all know how that turned out.

Since then the Parkhead club has built up their commercial operation to an unrivalled position within Scotland.

Put simply, it means that they’re in a position where they don’t have to sell players.

By contrast, Sevco are faced with tough choices in the January window and Pedro knows all about it.

Conversely, Celtic will have the means to strengthen the areas of the team that Brendan thinks need bolstering.

Yes, dear reader, this is a sporting advantage.

It really is.

Having more money, much more money, than anyone else in the league is ALWAYS an advantage.

Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is plain wrong, or, perhaps they’re just trying to cover up cheating.

60 thoughts on “A very fair sporting advantage”

  1. So King back in the country. Todays result is a financial disaster as getting to the final would have produced a big boost to finances pre Xmas.
    He’s going to be a very busy man, convincing his concert party that he’s not really skint and he’s happy to give guarantees to the auditors that he will continue to contribute.
    No cause for panic, none at all.
    As for todays ref…….whit the feck!
    Alves kicks Moult as they tangled on the ground with the ref 10 yards away with a clear view but no red, no yellow, didn’t even speak to the Portoguese man o war.
    Lets see how the SFA compliance officer avoids this one.
    How did someone with Alves skill set win so many caps for Portugal?
    How many times did he blooter the ball 40 or 50 yards up the park to no one in particular. And he has the cheek to belittle the Scottish game.
    At the end of the match I was left wondering why Pedro didn’t play Pena, Herrera, Jack or Dorrans, amongst others?

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  2. Motherwell asked and received somewhere between 8 and 10 thousand tickets for todays match.
    If they triumph over Newco whats the chances of them finding another 10,000 fans before the final?
    Doncaster and his crew are rapidly catching up with the incompetents at the SFA.
    Just had a thought that despite the absolute chaos that our football authorities have brought to our national sport we have survived.
    Cheating, lies, corruption…..they have done their worst.
    You would hesitate to send any of them out to pick up a free newspaper.
    A current SFA President that has done what to rise to his position?
    A former President who has lied through his teeth to protect a former employer who has gifted him £96k tax free.
    A former CEO sacked for gross misconduct in the Cadete affair.
    A registration executive who should have been binned along with Farry but has remained in situ throughout the DOS/EBT saga and invented the improperly registered but eligible nonsense.
    A man who could spot a missing signature or date on a form from a mile away.
    It would be interesting to see how much the England international players, lured to Ibrox post Heysel, were earning as per their contracts lodged with the SFA.
    Would anyone be surprised at the paucity of their wages?
    It’s little wonder that Regan doesn’t want anyone looking under the bonnet. Thanks to the bloggers we are much more aware of whats going on but without doubt we have only scratched the surface of the deceit and malfeasance in our sport.

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    • Time Reagan and Doncaster were held to account for the shambles of the EBT scam. They knew exactly what they were doing. Our game will never progress as long as these 2 chancers are involved.

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  3. Yesterdays honest mistake took me back in time
    Celtic v Hearts 20 plus years ago where, at both ends of the park, the ref and his linesmen combined to award goal kicks instead of corners when everyone in the stadium clearly saw the goalies touch the ball.
    Pre internet days I got home and penned a letter to the SFA,so poor was the performance of the men in black.
    On the Monday I read in the papers that the ref in question had been promoted to ref supervisor!
    Forget conspiracy theories for a moment, our officials are just clueless, none more so than the current fast tracked lot.
    Son of Dallas is incapable of counting to ten, as shown last week at Celtic Park when he regularly took 8 small steps before drawing his line on the grass.
    We have all witnessed 3 officials missing a hand ball in clear view in the ICT game or the contrived dive at Ross County with the Celtic defender nowhere near the player.
    We sack or swop Scotland managers on a regular basis but if you are the SFA appointed referee supervisor you have a job for life no matter how shockingly poor your crop turns out.

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    • The standard of Scottish referees is appalling. I say this without any one team in mind but every game I have watched involving various clubs has included dreadful displays by “refs. Get it right or find another job.

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  4. We need to stop harking on about refereeing decisions, unless we are prepared to state the one’s that go our way. 60 games unbeaten would be impossible if there was a genuine agenda by officials to stop that. There are referees that are not bluenoses. Surely someone would have made a quick buck by now
    by exposing any anti Celtic refereeing agenda. Bad refereeing works both ways. Just Ask the supporters of smaller clubs. Griffiths criticism is a total disgrace, shame on them.

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    • Bad referees are no use to man or beast. Let’s have them interviewed after games to explain why they make the decisions they make. Players and managers face media so why not refs.? Why is this ? Something to hide maybe…surely not !!!

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  5. Last year Sevco AGM was on the 25th of November, with the accounts out 21 days before the AGM. So we are getting to that time when real people in the know (ie the rugby guy) can have a look under Sevco bonnet. Question Phil can the glib and shameless one cancel/delay the AGM and issuing accounts til after the takeover panel verdict?

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  6. Oh the cry was “it’s no fare timmy is spoiling the game Coz they have CL revenue” anyone would think we are getting near 10 iar!

    They will crank this pish up a level as the titles roll in.

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  7. I’ve just contributed £7 towards your costs.
    The ‘7’ is in remebrance of Jinky. What more could be said?
    Please keep doing what you do, as without yourself and similar genuine individuals,
    IMO, we’re all completely fucked.
    I love Celtic FC.
    I abhorr Celtic PLC.
    There IS a difference. I support the FC.
    HH

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  8. it is my opinion that teams in the champions league should only be there on earning their own wealth , no subsidies from arab royal families , or oligargs, only then will celtic have a chance on a level playing field

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  9. Totally agree with joe on this one ,when the rangers cheated their way to league titles and euro champions league no one asked questions about unfair it was ,no one asked to get a share of their pot ,in 94 there was no sympathy in the media for Celtic getting called for the overdraft from BOScot who’s chairman was bankrolling Murray at ibrox and in charge of Dunfermline fc ,no one said it was and was a tainted title.no one asked any questions bar Phil .The boot is on the other foot now and all Celtic get is derogatory headlines .on Wednesday I’ve never heard such a bare biased commentary from McLean on BT that my wife came into the room to ask who I was swearing at as the sir was foul .We do everything right and buy the book,good governance and business knowledge.We have a good squad but can’t buy euro class players just to sit on the bench in case someone gets injured ,we live within our means and if you can’t accept been beaten buy on of the tournament favourites away from home after looking at their home record then you need a reality check ,their subs cost more than our team ! We are punching well above our level but to get into the competition we need to keep our monies made .spot on joe I salute you

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  10. One of these days the domestic run will come to an end.
    Given todays happenings it would appear that more than one honest mistake will be required.
    Why Lustig was booked is a mystery and Brown was booked for his first foul.
    The overall level of officiating in Scotland is appalling yet the man in charge of them has been in situ for a number of years.
    It would appear that the only people sacked by the SFA are the national team managers whilst everyone else is in a job for life.
    Goodness knows what goes on at the annual employee job performance reviews……they do have them, don’t they?
    Are Regan and Doncaster regular attendees at SPFL matches in Scotland, apart from when sitting in the directors box at Ibrox or Celtic Park.
    I would have directed this question to Regan but it seems that the transparency he talks about does not include answering to us mere fans!

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  11. We need to keep on keeping on. Great result today. Hopefully Simonovic is back soon and we will go up the gears. I feel like we haven’t got started yet but still grinding out the results. Dembele should be the main striker. He unlocks any defence he plays against.

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  12. Was at Hampden today several points to make.
    Atmosphere was spoiled by the empty Hibs end and Doncaster should be sacked.
    Penalty was a shocker another honest mistake possibly but when is something going to be done about incompetent match officials?
    Some Celtic supporters let themselves down today by slagging off Griffiths the guy was knackered and is a good servant to our club.
    IMOP Roberts and Armstrong were just as poor as Griffiths but have escaped the criticism.
    Why no critism of Brendan for playing guys who had run themselves into the ground against the Germans? He could have started with Rogic, Dembele and Forrest.
    We won and won well in the end but let’s try to remember that all those guys in Celtic colours deserve our support as does our manager .
    HAIL HAIL!

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  13. Another balls up from the authorities today, I would imagine the sponsors of the game today will have something to say about the empty spaces at Hampden when Hibs, who asked for half of the stadium but failed to sell their allocation resulting in a half empty ground…Shambles!

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  14. Approximately 10000 fans deprived of a semi-final at the national stadium !

    Dungcaster should be fired on the spot for his incompetence in this…
    … that is not to say that, for years, there are other motives for handing him a P45.

    The stunning thing is that everybody knows it – the same goes for Stuey, bye the way…

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    • Celtic, Motherwell, Sevco,& even Hibs LOST approx £60.000 each for unsold SF tickets !!!
      Peanuts for Celts but for some, it could help to balance the books.

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    • Doncaster can join his mate Regan in the dunces corner. How inept must they get to be fired.
      I’ve no problem with a 50/50 split but if a club cannot sell their allocation they should either have to pay for them or return them a week before the fixture is played so that the opposition can sell them on.
      Celtic have 52,000 ST holders, less than 50% of them had the chance to go to the game.
      The issue of the unsold tickets didn’t happen overnight. Hibs would have known for more than a week that they couldn’t shift them, its a disgrace.
      Furthermore having sold their souls to BT and Sky many fans would not have seen the game live nor will they catch the highlights on Sportscene tomorrow because the BBC don’t have any rights to either of the semi finals.
      If Regan and Doncaster were CEO’s in the real world both would have been sacked a long time ago, instead they are both getting rich from pulling in salaries and bonus payments way beyond the packages of CEO’s in industry running companies with an equivalent turnover.
      Speechless when it comes to the penalty decision!

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    • easy fix to empty seats. If a club wants a large allocation and fails to sell them then they should have to pay for the unsold tickets.

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  15. My post should have read “Like” …no lie….Doh!
    Also meant to say…
    I thought Dylan McGeough had a very good game today… well played wee man.

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  16. Oh come on Phil, LNS had a completely different viewpoint.
    I wonder if anyone has ever had the opportunity to ask M’lud how he arrived at his particular take that paying players huge tax free wages was of no consequence whatsoever!

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    • He already did. He said that because at the moment his decision was reached Rangers’ appeal was successful then the tax scheme was legal and so available to all other clubs (sorry, companies).

      Now it has been deemed illegal the SFA and SPFL have decided to draw a line under it and move on. Some of us don’t like this.

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  17. Hibs today gave us a good game,more so in the second half but,sill a challenge none the less.Mr.Neil Lennon has them well marshalled and hungry too,kuodos for that.

    This week Celtic FC earned every team in the SPL a near £4000k TOTALLY FREE,I wonder if we’ll receive a ‘thank you’ from any of them.Certainly not sevco,no danger of that.

    Moussa ‘King’ Dembele today returned with a brace to state his claim to become a first-pick once again,I wish him luck with Griff playing so well he will have to make his case emphatically and force Sir Bucks hand.

    Money rules the game now and we are streaks ahead in the domestic league,but when Euro ventures take us to the giddy heights of the likes of the Allianz Arena,we are then often the cannon fodder.This will remain the case for many years,and I think that will prove very difficult to ever overcome unless there are considerable set-up changes domestically,or we ply our trade in A.N.Other league.

    Wherever Celtic FC play We will be there to cheer them on.Hail! Hail!?

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  18. We need a strong Alloa Athletic in the Premiership and Champions League for the good of Scottish football. The Wasps should be back in their rightful place in the top league after Hitler denied them promotion in 1939 by invading Poland.

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  19. I would lie to counterbalance our “advantage”…by pointing out a huge “disadvantage.”
    A CL fixture against one of Europe’s best teams…away in a foreign country.
    A tough League cup semi-final against one of the better football playing sides in Scotland….
    An away fixture against the second best team in the league…
    AND ALL WITHIN ONE WEEK.
    Let’s give the guy who operates the fixture list on the computer …the benefit of the doubt…
    Naw…let’s no bother.
    When the fix is in…its in.
    No apologies from us then…live with it…or liquidate…again.

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    • Bear in mind that Rangers will play every other member of the “ top 6” twice at home before the split.

      They also started their season heavily loaded against the bottom 6 of last season.

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    • Yep and if all that is not bad enough, add the usual ” HONEST Mistake”.

      An honest question, how exactly is the deliberate denial of tickets to CELTIC Supporters, ready, willing and able to buy the 10,000 unsold tickets and attend the game of any benefit to the Scottish game?

      A Stadium which would have been full left looking shoddy and the suggestion of lack of support for the world at large, while PretendyGers are given 38,000 tickets and tickets sold in an order which would give them any unsold by Motherwell.

      Are we watching Doncaster’s desperate attempts to make Sevco look relevant?
      The Clown is a disgrace. Billy Connelly summed his ilk up… hangings too good for him, he needs a good kick on the erse.

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    • It’s all part of the cheating game that is scottish football.
      James Sanderson predicted cup draws and didn’t get one wrong.
      We are being taken for mugs.

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    • The league fixtures were decided before Celtic knew their European group and still had to fight their way to it. Hibs won their way to the semi against Celtic long after this. Celtic had that tough week because of their own success in Europe and in the cup not for any other reason. There’s enough dodgy stuff done by the SFA/SPFL without you having to make stuff up. But then I’m not a Celtic supporter so don’t have a pair of green specs. BTW I was chuffed to see Motherwell get to the final it seems justice is sometimes done. All the best to them in the final as they will be the underdogs.

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  20. If the rest of the teams brought down their prices to say £12 adults and £5 kids then the fans would start to return as they would be paying a fair price for watching the dross that these teams have and after a few years they would be able to start buying better players look at german football every ground is full because they charge low prices and they did this because the fans were staying away and grounds were like scotish grounds are just now but 10 yrs ago all top clubs got round the table and decided to try cheaper gate money instead of saying this isn’t working lets restructure the league set up no they knew what the problems were and now reaping the benefits and im sure same would happen here but to thick and dont listen to fans so thats why they are in state they are but woohoo we are the winners again so hell mend them HH

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    • Germany has almost 20 times the population of Scotland.
      From memory I think that Scotland per head of population has a bigger % of fans attending games than in Germany.

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    • Hamilton, Motherwell, Kilmarnock and St. Johnstone rely on limited local support, Dundee and Dundee Utd. Share the support in a small city, Patrick Thistle get the left overs from the Glasgow support. To suggest that reducing prices would get those clubs being more competitive is ridiculous, the truth of the matter is that Scottish football has developed with two clubs amassing the majority of the support in this country by the supporters following the team that they identified with their own religion.
      No matter what anyone says, the vast majority of bums on seats at Ibrox or Celtic Park are there because of a religious persuasion.
      That is not meant as a criticism of Celtic, I understand that they have in recent years worked at being more inclusive.

      Of course, as well as the punters who actually go to games there is the many thousands of ‘diehard’ supporters of either club who never or rarely go to games, there is no chance of them suddenly changing their allegiance by going to support another club.

      Reduced prices may increase attendance but it will be limited and not alter the fact that there is two big fish in a very wee pool, although only one of the fish can swim.

      That has long been the case and will continue to be so.

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        • It wasn’t that long ago they threw an assortment of fruit at a black player. Ac Milan goalkeeper and PSG players assaulted at Celtic Park were also black.
          Inclusive??

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      • “Celtic….. have in recent years worked at being more inclusive.” What the feck colour is the sky on your planet pal? Celtic have ALWAYS, IN THEIR ENTIRE HISTORY, BEEN AN INCLUSIVE CLUB. Our greatest ever side, the Lions was approximately 50/50 Catholic/Non Catholic. To a man every one was a Celtic fan. There was a quite incredible picture shown in just about every SMSM newspaper last season. It was shown taken from a slightly different angle in each paper but essentially showed the same picture and I am firmly convinced that if the SMSM had realised the significance it would never have been published. It showed a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew and a Muslim, all Celtic players, hugging each other after a Celtic goal. Not only football, but the world could learn from Celtic.

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        • A bit touchy there, I never suggested that Celtic used the same sectarian selection of players that oldco used, It is not something Celtic were ever guilty off, however they have had and still to a lesser amount have an element who appear to support an illegal organisation.
          The point I was making is that the club are attempting to make themselves open and attractive to all supporters. Sport has no place for extreme religious or political views, I was attempting to give them credit for their steps towards eradicating such views from the terraces at Celtic park.
          Surely all like minded people, no matter what colour their planet’s sky is, will agree with that.
          Most of the views and opinions expressed on these blogs are valid, unfortunately a small amount of the old paranoia still exists.

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          • She laid a wreath in the Garden of Remembrance and silently bowed her head.
            She as honouring, among others the 1916 insurgents of Easter Week and the IRA of the War of Independence.
            So the British monarch has honoured the boys of the old brigade.

  21. This advantage gives Celtic an opportunity to do what no other Scottish team has dared: institute discussions on how to reform football in Scotland. There remains the issue of stripping titles from oldco… they cheated and should lose the titles they achieved as a result. This issue could become the acid test of whether or not any club will support wholesale change, with restructuring of the league, the SFA and SPFL, and the direct involvement of SPFA and fans, through their supporters’ clubs. There needs to be a revolution in Scottish football. Celtic should seize the opportunity to lead that, and help in clearing the way for a wider revival in Scottish football’s fortunes on the international stage. Oh, and yes, the guilty men need to be punished, or at least banned as not being fit and proper persons to helm a football club.

    Celtic played well today, though the exertions of Munich took their toll on the energy levels. Hibs again were set out well and played to their ability. The referee and linesman who called the penalty against Boyata really should have a look at themselves. But that glitch apart, when we got out act together, we played with some flair and were deserved winners. A full-strength, fully fit Celtic should be able to challenge more in Europe, though. Bayern are far from invincible. So let’s hope everyone has their mojo back for the return leg at Parkhead.

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  22. Let’s not gloat …..too much?
    I’m always reminded of Poe’s Gothic Grotesque “the Fall of the House of Usher”
    Apposite. …..anyone ??

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  23. Phil don’t you think the financial advantage is not helping Celtic? With hardly any opposition in the league, due mostly to this huge gap, is it any wonder Celtic find it hard against teams like PSG and Bayern?
    If they paid out league and TV money from Bottom to top ( this would initially hurt MY team too ) the poorer quality teams at the bottom of the league, could buy better players, and in turn help Celtic by providing better opposition.
    The league being more competitive would mean higher gates and more money in the long run.

    Your thoughts?

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    • Have you seriously given this any thought? Why would a team who could not win the championship bother tryouts no to win games? The amount of match fixing and “playing badly” to earn more money would be rife. I mean just how bad could Sevco get??

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    • Aye very good, what an absolute piece of nonsense.
      Celtic earned the right to CL riches, yet some like yourself seem to forget it.
      Did we ever hear a moan when Newco was the recipient of CL monies?
      I’m surprised that you are not arguing that when 50,000 plus ST holders turn up at Celtic Park then half the revenue should go to the away team.
      Is it not enough that every SPL team will receive a £375k solidarity payout from UEFA this season because of Celtic’s efforts in Europe with £400k to follow this time next year.
      Can only guess who your own team may be but listening to Well’s CEO on the radio today he stated that the payment to Well was equivalent to 10% of their annual revenue in a good year.
      Have you thought through your argument?
      If Celtic were unable to fund the current wage bill then the best players would go elsewhere and there would be no CL riches as they would not get through the qualifiers.
      Oh and perhaps when Dembele and Tierney eventually go then the transfer fees received should be split across the rest of the SPFL.
      With Celtic having the biggest merchandising and sponsorship why not spread this income as well?
      This suggestion is up their with the notion that Newco or Aberdeen could do better.
      Barcelona, Man City, PSG, Bayern, 4 of the biggest and richest clubs in the world…….is it any wonder Celtic can’t compete yet you want to weaken Celtic by handing out their hard earned cash to other teams.
      Your socialist assertion that if every club was on the same financial footing there would be bigger crowds, therefore more money all round is just more nonsense. Celtic have sold out ST’s and unless they make the stadium bigger can’t generate any more money domestically, so your argument falls down on that argument as well.
      I suspect most of these loony ideas originate in Govan.
      Putting a spoke in Celtic’s financial muscle is not going to make the financial crisis knocking on Newco’s door go away.

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