It is clear that the officially ordained narrative coming out of the Blue Room is that there is nothing to worry about on the transfer front.
Indeed, they are building for a glorious future by snapping up talented youngsters.
However, football finance expert David Low has a habit of following the money in any story emanating from the basket of assets on Edmiston Drive.
The featured image is his Twitter take on this piece in the Athletic.
“Emerging talent”, apparently…
Award-winning stuff.
No, seriously.
Today, the Daily Radar thought that sixteen-year-old Cameron Bell joining junior Sevco was a major story.
Yes, they actually did.
We are many iterations beyond Succulent Lamb at this point.
Not convinced?
This just in…
Got that?
Meanwhile, Celtic have secured the services of THREE first-team starters and a very dependable understudy to Joe Hart.
Our old friend public data means that we KNOW that the Parkhead club have shelled out millions already for players.
It’s almost as if Celtic have got money.
Actually, they’ve got lots of it.
Now across the city, it is vital to maintain the pretence that everything is ok financially.
Now, it SHOULD be after a stellar revenue year, especially after the sale of Nathan Patterson, compensation for Gerrard and his team and a European final.
Actually, the Sevco High Command were probably only a penalty kick away from being in an altered universe.
Fine margins…
On the Follow Follow message board, there is currently a thread entitled “The Summer 2022 Rangers Transfer Window Rumours and Deals”.
It is currently on page 139.
Actually, it replaced a similar one that was chopped after it was over 500 pages!
It is probably worth noting that the Follow Follow chaps are official media partners of Sevco.
Today, this was a brief outbreak of reality on that dignified message board.
“Can’t afford” is the key term here.
Like all matters Ibrox, we should follow follow the money.
Public data, dear reader, public data.
Look at who is signed and who is sold.
My information, from an impeccably well-placed source, is that the current Director of Fantasy at Ibrox is working under the same instruction as last January:
Sell players and bring in loan deals, and if there has to be a purchase, try and ensure that it is for a nominal fee.
That’s all very well until you remember that it is commercially vital to soothe the lenders of last resort:
The Ibrox klanbase.
Fortunately for the brethren in the Blue Room, they have the succulent obedience of the Stenography Corps to call on at all times.
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Dreamers….Aribo is joining a fourth English club in the last 3 weeks……you have to feel for poor old Morelos…yesterdays chip wrapper now!
Phil, Scottish football is corrupt it leans to one side and always has. whatever Celtic do the narrative will always be the opposite. As my old grandfather used to say there are Irishmen and there are Dublin men.
There is an old Irish saying when arriving at a new place and that is ” If there is a government here I’m ‘agin’ it”. It is not with that attitude, do I go against the prevailing thought here on the subject of the club that plays out of Ibrox but rather, one of “know your enemy”
Firstly, they won the Scottish Cup.
Secondly, they reached a European final and lost on penalty kicks, a wonderful piece of irony if there ever was one.
Thirdly, they will have Morelos back and he scores goals what ever you think of him.
Fourthly and most importantly they have been tested and come through. I was told by some that they had no chance against the German teams by people who know more about football than I do.
The mistake they made was attempting to kid their supporters on that they are interested in new players. A better gambit would have been to say we have a settled team and they do.
Their problems with contracts starts next year albeit January and any players signing “prenups” (sic) will still have to to see the season out.
Some fairly sound points. I’d suspect we see a (partial) decline in form however this season. This is mainly because players are older and contracts running out (not getting injured and securing a January pre contract will be the advice of the agents), their form was above expected last season (although their European final was reached on a 33% win rate), they’ve got the memory of losing last season and celtic will be stronger.
But overall you are correct, it is folly to write them off. FFP should cause them a few problems. Their finances may be dire, but their current squad is battle hardened.
Another issue is they’ll be doing what celtic has done for the past few years… See if they get into the CL groups and then shop in bigger market if they do. It’s risky, but if they do get in it changes everything for them.
The pre-contract scenario is actually comprised of MANY potentially different scenarios, each depending on circumstances at the time.
If sevco, WORST case scenario, fail to make either the CL or EL, have a miserable third tier tournament, are out of Europe completely by Christmas and are trailing Celtic in the league, they will take whatever they are offered for players free to sign a pre-contract.
If however, they qualify for the CL, and are sitting at the top of the league, that, as a friend of mine used to say, is “a horse of a different colour of kettle of fish!” The football financial landscape in Scotland will have changed completely.
Regarding The Athletic article, the idea that any money is ‘banked’ at Rangers seems to be wishful thinking.
Maybe not, it may be that it goes to someone else’s bank to pay one of their myriad debts.
Get them in young and cheap, develop and sell them on for huge profits and add-ons in the £jillions. Sound business policy.
Only drawback is the here and now.
You need to mend a team on the down slope at the earliest by freshening the squad up, moving some out and ideally replacing with better quality into the first team squad, adding a youthful complexion to an ageing team.
Problem on the youth policy is the majority will never make the first team, Celtic have had enough who didn’t cut it or chased the cash esewhere with a stuttering career.
Bit of smoke and mirrors with the Rangers as we all know. No doubt they will get 2-3 in with the same leaving. At Celtic there is a team on the up and Rangers an ageing team on the decline unless thay can do as Ange did last year. Prob is that takes hard cash and a manager with an eye for talent.