Why there was no transfer funny business at Sevco

Now that the window is closed, it is possible to reflect on what transpired on Planet Fitba.

As the clock ticked down last night, there was something of a dark mood amongst the Ibrox klanbase.

In fairness, they do dark very well.

I was partly expecting some late move to seize the narrative on Transfer Headline Day by the Sevco High Command.

I learned today that they had been offered a few free agents that would undoubtedly have ticked the Big News box.

However, they were all high earners.

As ever, we must follow follow the money.

If everything had been rosy in the financial garden at Ibrox, then it was reasonable to presume that in the immediate aftermath of the PSV game that the Sevco manager would have had money to spend.

As I have previously reported, my information is that Mr Gio had three positions he wanted to address (centre back, central midfield and striker).

Now that Tom Lawrence is out for weeks, the sale of Aribo has weakened the Sevco squad in the final third.

I believe there are three main reasons why there was no spending after the PSV game.

It can be summed up as Ashley, Hector and UEFA.

What Sports Direct received as recompense for the revenues they lost to the Sevco car boot sale is still unknown.

I would not fall off my chair in shock if it were finally revealed that there had been little change left out of £18m in the final reckoning.

HMRC is definitely going after every penny in the post-pandemic fiscal crisis facing the British state.

As previously reported, the new UEFA regulations regarding financial sustainability appear to have closed many of the loopholes that were extant within the FFP rules.

Moreover, the ten-year-old club is now on UEFA’s radar.

This is a major development and will not come as a great shock to my regular readers.

As ever, Alan Morrison of Celtic By Numbers called it clearly.

There might be a fourth reason why there was no major spending at Sevco: directors wanting to have their loans repaid.

The days of the confetti share issues are gone.

Meanwhile, across the city, Sevco’s rival has a bigger stadium, more season tickets and greater commercial revenues.

Crucially, the days of Lawwellball are done with, over, a thing of the past.

The club with the largest football budget in Scotland now entrusts the deployment of those funds entirely to their manager.

That is why offers for Josip Juranović, Matt O’Riley and David Turnbull were rebuffed.

I’m told that the first two (from EPL clubs) fell into the “substantial” category.

As the window was closing, Ange could travel to Dingwall and field what was effectively his second XI and cruise past an agricultural opponent on a tight pitch.

It remains to be seen if  Celtic’s greater resources will tip the balance in the league campaign.

There are, of course, other factors at play in Fair Caledonia.

All Celtic can do is go about their business diligently and intelligently off the field.

Despite what the Stenography Corps would wish, the facts do not care about their feelings.

Sevco is facing a city rival that has greater financial muscle.

That was relentlessly demonstrated in this transfer window.

Moreover, Celtic’s greater spend was generated from within the business itself.

That is why they are not on UEFA’s watch list, and Sevco is.

Starting to see it now?