There is nothing new about a manager using a presser to put it up to the board for more funds.
“At this level, which is improving year in year out, if we want to keep growing and go to the extra level we need in transfer windows to spend big money.
“It is as simple as that. To compete with the teams that we are playing against we have to spend big money. In the last two windows we haven’t spent a penny. So there has to be some realism there as well.
“To compete with these teams and beat them on their own patch when transfer windows are open you have to spend money to compete at this level. Not win but just to compete so there has to be some common sense when you judge us from the outside.”
In that sense, Mr Gerrard is entirely within his rights as the guy in the hot seat.
However, he may not know the full extent of the financial situation at Sevco.
Quite recently, there was yet another issue of worthless RIFC share confetti.
I’m indebted to David Low for constantly being across this.
This one, in particular, was in the region of £16k.
A relatively small sum given the size of the business.
When I contacted a well-placed source, I had to do a double-take after what he told me about this latest share issue.
“Oh, yeah, that was for an electricity bill”, he calmly explained.
Monies that were required to keep the lights on.
Literally…
The truth of the matter is that the chaps in the Blue Room did everything within their power to provide Mr Gerrard with the resources to stop Celtic marching towards the Ten.
Members of the Sevco High Command have plundered their personal wealth to keep that show on the road.
Of course, they were indeed fortunate to have the unlikely assistance of those in charge of Managed Decline FC across the city.
Mr Gerrard could be up against a much better-resourced adversary in the home dugout at Celtic Park.
However, there is little chance of that happening.
Consequently, Stevie G should be grateful to the occupants of both boardrooms.
In a sense, they’re each assisting him greatly.
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Could you not get a picture with Dermot Desmond in it….he of course is ultimately the man at the top, the decision maker, some awful ones lately…he is the man to blame.
Laying the foundations for his exit in January? Needs to keep the pretense of him being a capable manager if he wants a job dahn sahf.
Agree and why I say the Ibrox Board have outperformed the Celtic Board in last couple of years . Celtic have sold nearly 100m of talent last four years and replaced them with poor substitutes. It’s not even managed decline it’s a sell off. Disgrace. Meanwhile the Ibrox Board have put their hands in their own pockets gambled and won.
Wanyama cost us £800k
Ki £2m
Forster £2m
Van Dijk under £3m
Ajer cost is k100k
Armstrong £2m
Dembele £500k
Tierney Nil
Christie £1m
We spent more on Édouard and Jullien than that lot combined.
We spent more in this window than Lenny spent building his entire squad that beat Barcelona and qualified out the Group to the last 16 of the Champions League.
These players never arrived big money signings but a few of them left big money signings.
We’ve made over £34m in profit over the past 10 years and that’s counting the past 2 where most Clubs have been hit badly.
The pretendgers meanwhile have lost an estimated £70m in 9 years not counting this years train wreck and have 1 Top flight Trophy to show for it.
I don’t think the Celtic Board need any pointers from Ayebrokes on how to run a business somehow.
They’re making the same mistakes Oldco made allover again.
I totally understand and agree with your assessment of the Sevco funding situation….and the manager’s “disquiet ” with same.
Perhaps he should follow your blog to keep up with what’s really going on.
And as for the “Leccy bill”…that is astounding !!
I did wonder however if you would have picked up on the sheer hypocrisy from Mr. Gerrard regarding his shock and horror at racist abuse being meted out to one of his players.
He is the Manager of a Club who has a hardcore element in the support, who revel in racist abuse, and he now accuses other Clubs of the same thing and not only that…he publicly demands that UEFA does something about it ?
Oh if Carlsberg did irony.
Honestly…you couldnae make it up.
Absolute clown.
I take it the big electric bill is brexits fault 😁
Joking aside if that’s right they’ve got to be on their last legs.
If the directors won’t put the money up to fund the club for a period of time, but are opting to pay individual bills, they can’t have much confidence for the long term
Rangers* raised £4.5m through a share issue by Tifosy just last month , is it all gone ? I suppose that’s a rhetorical question seeing just 4 weeks later the collecting tin has had to go round to collect just £16k . I did notice that these shares were issued for the bargain price of just 20p and not the 25p charged in July to the investor savvy public . They’re going to need a bigger tin when Dave comes chapping the door very shortly .This also the 2nd smallest issue of shares in their short history , they previously had an issue that raised just 10k but that was 4 days after a previous issue which raised 2.75m so probably due to a miscalculation of funds needed. This would suggest they are literally running on fumes
I also noticed Mr Gerrard’s subtle dig that no monies have been spent in the last 2 windows . Was he promised funds for the summer that never arrived ?
Deflector shields on… on the booing of Kamara ( by around 10,000 children ! )
“ … on listening to it back I’m surprised I never heard it during the game’
Maybe they were booing Gerrard having seen him assault someone in a bar !
Racism is unacceptable.