An email from Celtic dropped into my inbox this morning.
A few days after the club published their accounts, it was too contrived for a novel if the author was trying to illustrate corporate types being out of touch with the supporters.
The bottom line on the bottom line is that, till June 30th this year, the Parkhead operation made a loss, and the legendary cash pile has been reduced to £66.4 million, down from £77.3 million.
That is the clear impact of failing to get past Kairat Almaty.
Consequently, the collapse against Lasc will show up in the figures for this accounting year, which will emerge in twelve months.
Season after season, European failure is now an undeniable pattern.
Different managers, different players.
What remains the same is the corporate approach.
The only part of the Grand Plan seems to have been to stay slightly ahead of the nativist neighbours.
Now even that modest objective is in danger.
There is little discussion on ACSOM yesterday that I can disagree with.
John Hughes points out that “the fans have no power”.
He is 100% right about that.
This isn’t 1994, and until King Dermot changes direction or decides to sell his shareholding, nothing will change.
For Celtic fans, this is the world as it is, not as many would wish it.
Meanwhile, the merchandising operation continues as if nothing else is happening.
It really IS too contrived for a novel.
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What can be said, other than CFC directors are gambling with Celtic’s future.
If we had the German model of 50%+1 fan ownership, I’d like to think we’d be in a different place.
Europa League is Celtic’s absolute limit right now but we are feeling that and that is sending the wrong messages to a board with no ambition and what’s more a desire to keep their face in corporate circles.
Celtic fans want Celtic to be giving bloody noses to all of the big names, the corporate giants. We know financially we can’t….in the Scottish Premiership… compete financially with the Real Madrid’s, PSG’s etc but what we should be able to do is engender the Spirit of ’67 and take all these “mega clubs” on, players, managers, board, fans united, man to man or die in the pusuit.
I’ll admit to a snigger when the same email arrived before instantly deleting it!
I’ve read elsewhere that the merch sales are thought to have had a bit of a downturn – I gather merchandising has been absorbed into a wider category in the accounts, possibly to disguise this. Can your egg-chasing buddy spare some time to shed any light on the figures?
If true there could be multiple reasons for this – It may be that Not Another Penny is having an impact, but it could be a natural downturn due to poor results, the operation having reached saturation point with its captive market or the availability of cheap Chinese counterfeit items for a small fraction of the RRP, but I think something is afoot with the merch numbers…..
Not Another Penny is our power
Keane possibly making his mark already.