At the start of 2020, everything seemed normal.
Sevco came back from their midwinter breakdown and, well, collapsed.
Celtic did their thing and were according to Stevie G “relentless”.
No one on Planet Fitba thought that they would need Bruce Willis and his intergalactic drill bits.
Today I read that Leeann Dempster spoke of a “meteor” that was heading for Planet Fitba.
Well, she is spot on.
This is the time when the preppers on Planet Fitba can be smug.
Clubs, companies, and engine room subsidiaries will be rewarded for having substantial cash reserves and zero debt.
It is one of those times when being associated with a billionaire might be especially useful.
For Sevco the stars have come into alignment, but not in a good way.
Anyone who thinks that Mr Douglas Park can continue in his role as Sevco’s benefactor in chief has not been paying attention.
His well-run business is not immune to the recessionary effects of the COVID pandemic.
A few weeks ago, a very well-placed source told me that HSBC and Santander had, let’s just say, provided some further advice and guidance to Mr Park’s phenomenally successful company.
At the time my guy told me only a few people knew this information and that if I published it, then that could lead back to his door.
Therefore, I held off.
The bottom line is that Sevco does not have a sugar daddy in the Blue Room.
In fairness, Mr Park has, out of all of the King Concert Party, provided the highest amount of external finance since the Off Licence Putsch of 2015.
Meanwhile, the sabre-rattling at Ibrox apropos the end of the season continues.
I am told that many clubs are viewing this recent salvo of statements as merely a marketing ploy for season tickets.
I, of course, couldn’t possibly comment.
Indeed, it would be regrettable if the folks at Celtic decided to call their bluff and agreed to play the league to a conclusion behind closed doors.
Now, what would that entail apart from Nine In A Row?
Well, it would mean that Mr Gerrard’s Gumtree Galacticos would all go back onto full pay while Sevco would have close to zero matchday revenue.
Anyone who thinks that is not an Extinction Level Event for the eight-year-old club has not been paying attention.
A source close to the Celtic hierarchy told me today that he was confident that the wealthiest club in Scotland would not face any tough COVID related decisions “until December”.
However, after that, some difficult calls would need to be made at Parkhead.
In short, Celtic would need to sell a major player, or even two.
He pointed out that when that decision was finally forced upon Celtic, all of the other clubs would have already felt the impact of Ms Dempster’s predicted meteor.
Of course, everyone loves a sequel if the first one was a big hit!
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Not even WINCEY WILLIS can save sevco!!
The UK government,and Sturgeon has no idea how to come out of lockdown.
The experts tell us that until we do mass testing, to ensure that we are safe,we will have many waves of the virus.
Surgeon has now turned from her daily lies on PPE and death rates to football.
Why can’t we even test the PL footballers,and staff,to allow closed door games
to stop all this nonsense.Maybe this is beyond reach.
Pie in the sky. An apt name. Any testing is meaningless other than at the immediate time of testing.
You tea are a stupid boy.
There will be no football played in June or July, no matter what UEFA say. While the infection rates are so high in Spain, Italy and the UK, there is no way mass gatherings will take place for a long time at least not until there is a vaccine (so not this calendar year probably).
Would you risk (for example) Odsonne Edouard’s long term health or short term life to play a behind closed doors match where social distancing can’t be practiced.
I think that the meteor has already hit Planet Fitba (it’s first impact was noticed in Wuhan), we’re just now entering the phase where we will find out which dinosaurs will survive this event.
No surprise that when leadership is required from the SFA, none is forthcoming.
Maxwell was appointed not to rock the boat and thats exactly what he’s doing, hee haw.
He’s following a long line of previous CEO’s who should have never been anywhere near the position.
Jim Farry, remember him. Somehow managed, single handedly?, to delay the registration of Cadete before falling on his sword and exiting stage left…..not sure if he got a pay off.
Gordon Smith appointed for God knows why and when DOF at Ibrox left claiming to know nothing about anything….. Perfectly believable.
Campbell Ogilvie, a paragon of virtue. Jumped from Ibrox to Hampden, his pockets bulging with £90k plus of EBT payments yet we are to believe that he was in no way compromised as a result.
An EBT payment that apparently would barely cover a good night out in Glasgow, according to Chick Young the St Mirren fan, till the actual sum was revealed along with the dozens of others when the blogger in the know exposed the level of the scandal.
Ogilvie also had shares in Rangers and Hearts when he took over at Hampden. Again this was leaked and suggestions were made that once again this might compromise his position in decisions involving both teams.
When pointed out to Ogilvie, yes someone had to point it out to him, he immediately did the right thing and rid himself of both shareholdings by signing them over to his wifey, end of compromise accusations.
Campbell, what a cad. I wonder if he cleared his HMRC liability from the EBT’s with part of his SFA golden handshake?
HI phil
dont see why that we shouid sell 1 or 2 major players if wee going to sell any it wouid be squad and fringe players one big clear out
this situation provides an opportunity for a realignment in british football.
celtic in the premiership perhaps?
I have long suspected that Sevco are planning some sort of paid membership scheme, and that the appeal to their “core” via the SPFL conspiracy and DUP appointment was an attempt to forge some sort of identity based on an illusory persecution complex. Good luck with that. Having said that, Celtic will have to get imaginative in how they solicit supporter revenue given its PLC structure.
Do you recall what happened to the ‘emotional investments’ of those who bought debentures for oldco ?
Risky business…. but then that support had never been the smartest.
Leanne Dempster is spot on but it must also be said that her club is another with healthy cash reserves and zero debt. This is a club that was once £17m in debt and managed to trade its way out of it while building what is basically a new stadium and an excellent training facility.
Losing excellent players like Scott Brown, Steven Fletcher, Gary O’Connor, Steven Whittaker et al was testament to their youth policy which continues to flourish today with the likes of Ryan Porteous and Jamie Gullan playing alongside one-club stalwarts like Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon.
Despite some protestations from supporters, never did they over-extend on the playing side, like their city neighbours for example, and defeats in cup finals to a Hearts side that they couldn’t afford and a Livingston side in administration yet holding on to its players were tough for their fans to take. There was even the ignominy of relegation.
But what goes around comes around and never were there more deserving cup winners than in 2016 when they took on yet another club/company/holding company vehicle that was over-extending and the reward from that was over 12,000 new season ticket holders.
Hibernian really do deserve a lot of credit for the way they run their operation off the park. Must be something about the colours green and white!
While the relegration axe-grinders bicker over 14-10-10-10 or 16-14-12, anyone who can see beyond their own self interest must be wondering if the new year will see enough going concern clubs to make up a fragile 10-10-0-0 SPFL structure.
There are going to be a few casualties that much is a certainty.
Aberdeen for example can not afford to haemorrhage £1m per month.
As for Sevco …
It must be statement o’clock time with sevco and the Klan and club 18to30 itching to say something.
Remember when you could stand aside and watch the debt pile up? We’ve all learned that when you ditch your debt you simply feed the worms. The worms then feed off the carcasses.
We’ll take our medicine in the East come what may.
Chin up lads and look after your own. Tough times.
To look at this problem objectively I think you only need look at the old joke about the two camera men filming on the Serengeti…
Whilst filming a pack of lions at the watering hole both camera men notice the Male of the pack moving towards them in an unfriendly manner.
One guy reaches into his back pack and pulls out a pair of Nike running shoes and the other turns round and says – Don’t know what your doing putting them on for you’ll never outrun a Lion in those.
The other guy replies- Fuck the lion so long as I outrun you I’ll be fine.
You see in this situation Celtic are the only ones capable of outlasting the rest.
If the rest fall we find ourselves in a position of finding a new League.
https://imgflip.com/i/301zc0
Arsene Venger might seem a tenuous link to Celtic but while others scoffed he steered arsenal throught difficult financial times, a new london stadium to pay for, now arsenal are, unlike many in the EPL, are financially sound and well placed to capitalise on others wrecklessness.
3,4,5 years i expect to see arsenal back at the top while indebted clubs fall to the the wayside even the oil rich look poor this month.
While others party and scoff at your frugality, fear not for a man with a pound is richer than a man who’s borrowed a million.
Ive heard you can even buy football clubs for a pound.
Oil was an average of $62 a barrel 2019 today some oil companies in the us are either getting $2 or paying for it to be taken off their hands so your analogy was spot on 👍
What is the significance of Ashley’s proposed sale of Newcastle? Will he try to play a greater role at Ibrox or is he simply too toxic following the retail deal and the ongoing lawsuit?
No significance…
I think you are confusing which party is most ‘toxic’.
They will be begging him for input and an out to the legal stuff but DK took it too far.
Ashley plays the ‘long game’….. he will have his revenge.
On a lighter note…
Due to my popularity as an after dinner speaker…I was recently contacted by BBC Scotland …who asked me to do a presentation from home… regarding the state of Scottish Football.
Naturally I agreed.
The guy then said …” We’ll do the piece with your bookcase in the background “.
” I don’t have a bookcase ” I replied.
There was a silence…then the line went dead.
I haven’t heard any more from them…:0)
You should have offered to do the interview from the Ibrox trophy room then!!… oh, wait!!… heehee!!
Bye bye sevco
Great update Phil,in that case get the games played behind closed doors ASAP
Not that I’m looking for their klub to feel any undue effects,because my thinking is; IT IS ALL DUE…and then some🤞🏼
HH🇮🇪
It’s not much consolation if Celtic thrive longer just because they’re going to be skint a few months after sevco and their sugar daddy unwilling, or unable because of the virus, to dip his hands into his pocket.
I would assume Desmond’s businesses will suffer as well as any others.
Anyway, I thought Park’s accountants warned him about his company ‘haemorrhaging’
money to sevco about two (?) years ago.