This statement from Mr Gerrard will come as no surprise to regular readers here.
Admittedly, it is strange for any club in contention for the title to openly state that they will not strengthen their squad.
Moreover, anyone relying on the output of the Stenography Corps might be rather shocked by this news.
With everything at the basket of assets, it comes down to money, or rather the lack of it.
Sevco have not been cash-rich since 2013-back then Charles of Normandy struck gold with his IPO.
However, by the start of 2014, it had been burned through thanks to those pesky Onerous Contracts.
From February of that year, it has been external finance.
They remain a loss-making business without a credit line from a bank.
Indeed, even when they make like a big outfit the devil is in the detail.
My guy in Dubai headed down to their training camp at my request.
Go raibh míle maith agat!
He told me that it was 500 Dirham (£100) to have a look around Sevco’s training efforts and 100 Dirham (£20) for an autograph.
In fairness, they did travel in style…
Unless you follow follow the money then the Sevco shitshow makes no sense.
Except for the Conveyancing Consigliere Mr King has no support in the Blue Room.
The Sevco High Command have finally realised that the Ashley litigation is the product of King’s duplicity and hubris.
They do have a broad outline of a strategy going forward, but first, they need rid of the Convict Chairman.
Much easier said than done dear reader.
It will be messy and expensive, and it is the last part that is the real sticking point.
What IS puzzling is the apparent reticence of Celtic to fully deploy their clear financial advantage.,
My understanding is that Celtic’s top target Andraz Sporar rebuffed the Parkhead club for Sporting Lisbon.
This was, I am told, despite Celtic offering him £5k per week more than he will get from the Portuguese side.
Who next then?
Would, say, the addition of Lawrence Shankland (in exchange for Bayo on loan and a transfer fee) augment the Hoops?
No disrespect to the lad and I’m sure that he is a fine player.
However, it does look as if the untitled director of football at Parkhead has decided that the league title is not in any danger.
Consequently, Mr Lennon has not seen the arrival of any of the three “first team starters” that he asked for during this window.
That would appear to be a high-risk strategy.
Then again hubris is not the preserve of those at Ibrox.
Discover more from Phil Mac Giolla Bháin
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Since Lennon came back the football has been terrible, multiple last second clutch goals from Edouard saved the treble despite Lennons horrific team selections and game management. Ultimately him getting results meant that his doubters, about 70% of the support, were kept quiet. We got lucky wins against Lazio, 2 last minute goals, Heroic Forster performances, and defensive blunders against a top class outfit who are one of the best teams in Italy this season. Lennon will always get lucky results in Europe, its about his only decent quality he has as a manager.
The problem is the team is not progressing under him, we have no identity, style or system, and we are being outclassed by a hun team which became a good team while we were busy laughing at them with false dawn after false dawn. They now have a top manager in the making who has been backed to the absolute hilt to put a team on the pitch to challenge us, and its clear he has picked up modern tactical knowledge from his experience at Liverpool which is just completely showing Lennon up.
I am struggling to see any logical reason why we should win the league as it stands, the huns dont get injuries like weve had constantly for years now with key players. They have 2 competent players for almost every position in their system and they will continue to crush the absolute trash in this league, and then bully our small weak team again in a physical match. We have a bunch of wee guys who just are not up to playing in a match like this, thankfully we have sold one of them to miami but physically and mentally strong first team ready players to replace him and the other wee guys do not look to be coming any time soon.
The treble treble and last 5 titles have been achieved with slippers on against no competition. Scott Brown was finished 18 months ago and hes still the first name on the team sheet, we have 1 good fullback in Elhamed and he appears to be a long term injury. Our left hand side is barely SPL class and thats been the case all season bar 4 or 5 games where Elyounoussi played well, another long term injury and cant be relied on.
You can count on 1 hand the players we have that id want to go to war with against the huns, that is not good enough considering our unfathomable financial advantage. Our price has drifted alarmingly with the bookies and a slip up on wednesday would see Rangers become favourites for the title. That is where we are right now, and I cant understate the hatred I have for the people running our club for personal profit.
Mr Gerrard’s revelation of no signings is a wonderful example of making a virtue of necessity. Raises the hair on the back of my neck and I come over all poetic – so it did. Mr G is on the heroic level saying, we are strong enough now, we don’t need any more strengthening. On the other hand to those of us who were brought up on Hans C Anderson, the Emperor is evidently down to his dirty Y-fronts.
Maybe Mr G. has been taking lessons in defiance from Alan Bissett, notable playwright and Sevco fan who in his Indy1 play, ‘The Pure, the Dead and the Brilliant’ made a virtue – a war-cry – of the phrase, “Too wee, too poor, too stupid!”. At the height of the play, the cast manage to involve the audience in that chant. D’ye think those words could be segged into the tune of the sash??
Celtic have already signed a new striker and a midfielder has almost also been added. It remains to be seen how good they are of course, but I’m hopeful that they will make a difference and improve the squad. Another player, probably a defender, would also be welcome and I would rather be us going forward at this stage of the season than the challenging team with no money and no impetus. We just need to get the thunder going again to make it another successful season. Lenny will surely gee everyone up to provide that. 9 in a row….here we come.
I certainly wouldn’t say they have no impetus. Theyve matched us all the way so far this season.
Oh dear people still clutching at straws expecting Lenny to get his way with the players he wants in 2 chances none and you can guess the other . LIEWELL is playing a blinder here and as I have said before our fans are encouraging him by continuing to buy into his lies . Sevco will continue to just chug along and make it over the line this season possibly with the title . But it wont be blue and white ribbons on the trophy it will be photos of LIEWELL as he gave sevco and the BENNY’S all the advantage they could get by penny pinching and keeping his hands in his pocket instead of blowing them out the water. No point in protests and boycotts after the damage is done as prevention is always better than the cure . We cant say we didn’t get the warning .
Cue incoming comments about your grammar and phraseology….
Hey Scud, you sound very like wee Willie John MacFadden.
There he goes again with that puerile ‘Benny’s nonsense. This refers to a television character, with serious learning difficulties. Try and change your vernacular sonny. Shallow at best. Some Forums would probably delete your posts. On a more positive note, hope Lennon gets the players required..
Oh dear another gullible fan hoping that Lenny gets his players and we have the cheek to call sevco fans thick . Your not reading things properly or seeing the bigger picture . You will be the first to call for the sacking of Lenny if we lose the title but still be singing the praises of LIEWELL.
Scudbook is bang on.
Gerrard clever boy. Getting excuses in early.
Lennon can’t be a clever boy. He hasn’t been told nobody in.
I personally think, as is usual, Peter will pull three rabbits out the hat before the window closes and all the wee Celtic faces will be glowing and smiley.
Twice per year Peter gets pelters and twice per year he does ok by the club. It’s part of the fun CELTIC experience. Bloggers and critics firmly believe its their cruel snipes that influences spend. Twice per year they ridiculously feel important and influencers.
It’s as part of the Celtic experience, part of the culture as YNWA, Henrick Larsson, Caesar and Jock Stein.
I wouldn’t swap a single one of the millions of genius fans worldwide for Peter Lawwell. The guy is a Celtic Legend and Hero.
To be honest no real interest in the comedy show in Govan. But the real circus act seems to be with the Celtic Boards Biscuit tin mentality,
Passing the buck to Neil Lennon who’s trying to bring in proven quality players without penny pinching.
He needs to come out and say he is trying to sign players but is being Hindered in his demands, to sign quality.
We have seen it all before where titles have been lost without the backing of the board.
You only have to ask Hay, Strachan and Rogers who bailed out. Abet he never lost a title.
These boys there signing; look like they will need to hit the ground running, that’s if they get the chance to play.
Let’s get the Griff out on loan to Aberdeen or Hibs. And give the new boys a game.
It’s going to be a good month starting with Kilmarnock away.
Can you seriously blame Sporar? A wet and windy game against the likes of Ross co, or playing in Portugal? No brainer if you ask me.
Said in earlier posts, Forget signing players and get in a proper manager.
I’m probably reading things totally wrong, but perhaps Peter Lawwell doesn’t fear the league title going to Ibrox. Could he be aware of an administration event and the concomitant points deduction heading that way in the very near future? Over the last few days, Twitter has been filled with the Hun hopes that an observed rapid fall in the value of Celtic shares is indicative of some very bad news coming our way. The standard ‘child abuse compensation’ theory seems to be their consensus. However, as best as I can recall, the last time there was a similar fall in our share value was back in 2012, when the Old Firm cash cow came to an end. Since then, the share price has risen steadily. Is the word out that the latest Ibrox bubble is about to burst?
Unfortunately this Ipox bubble ain’t going to burst before the seasons’ out- which means they have a real chance of the title- if Lawwell feared an admin/ liquidation event he’s called it wrong- and far too late to do anything about it. Even if it happens AFTER the season’s over, they don’t care- the need to stop 10IAR
Or investors are seriously worried that 9 in a row won’t happen.
This transfer window creeps me out … memories of WGStrachan’s last season and Lenny’s last before returning keep coming back. That feeling where you knew we needed strengthening but you also kinda knew it wasn’t going to happen. Hope I’m wrong.
Let’s be honest, as long as the SD/ Elite/ Hummel can is kicked down the road, Celtic stutter in the transfer marker thus stutter in the league, and thus have no reason to sell El Mutanto (see above can), does Slippy G REALLY need to sign anyone? No legal entity/ governing body is going to stop their operations and/or invoke administration or liquidation before the chance to win the league/ stop10IAR is gone- and win it they might I’m loathe to say…what happens to them after that doesn’t matter.
How Sevco have been allowed to operate and trade insolvent and operate for at least this season with no FFP, no legal flags, not only raised, but waving is something that will be looked back on (like the impotent asterisk years- not Paul Larkin’s amazing doc) with a damning sense of ‘what if’ .
Unfortunately, along with inconsistency, #thefixisin, #stoptheten, no FFP, and the legal wheels moving far to slow to dock points (maybe PL was hoping this would be the case, if he had any interest at all)…. fill in your own blanks…..I wish it weren’t so. Say it ain’t so….?
You’ve said it all along Phil. The title will be won or lost in the boardroom.
Are there any updates on the court stuff?
Won or lost in the boardroom?
Watching their games, I believe refs gifted them seven points this season.
Commentators couldn’t believe the decisions.
True re refs, but as the Green Brigade’s banner pointed out they’re in danger of ‘Falling Asleep at the Wheel’….we’ve blown enough points of our own with missed penalties etc.
And yet we have more points than last season. Dropping points is what happens. Every season.
Phil do you think Lawell Hope’s if Sevco win the league the fans will still flock back to parkhead. I for one wouldn’t give them another penny until PL, DD and the board were gone. I just dont get the mentality of not pushing the boat out to get 9 never mind 10. If the huns were alive and we were in the same boat as them they would have killed us stone dead!
We’ve had a few dodgy goals ourselves this season.