Board couldn't care less about 10 in a row

Something jumped out to me with Neil Lennon's interview last night and tbh it sums up the Celtic boards attitude towards the team. Its a business and nothing else.

The quote from Lennon I'm talking about is:

“We’re very strong on it, we don’t want to sell any of our players — and we don’t need to now. Maybe if we hadn’t qualified it would’ve been something the board would’ve had to look at".

This to me suggests that if we had not qualified then someone had to be sold. Not saying it would have been Edouard but I'm guessing someone north of the £10mil fee its reported group stages are worth to us.

Now I'm not one for over spending as a normal but in this 10iar a season when we are so desperate for one or 2 more signings it appears the powers that be were perfectly happy to WEAKEN the team further in order to help the balance sheet. I'm sorry but in this season (and I do stress just this season) that's absolutely disgusting.

Celtic fans have been waiting their whole lives for something like this which won't happen again or certainly not for a long long time. It means the world to us but Lennon's comments show that Celtic is nothing more than a business to PL and DD.

We could lose 10iar but we've made money so they would be happy. I've said it before Peter Lawell would rather we lost 5-0 to PSG in CL than beat the likes of Lazio in the EL.

I understand we are a business but again I stress this season must be treated as a one off.

 

Considering the financial situation we are living in , I think the board have done quite well investing in players during the current transfer window . Will it be enough ? I hope so but I would love to see a quality LWB brought in .

 

Clubs are oozing money at the moment. We've spent our usual amount without a sale of a first xi player so I think the board are treating it seriously.

 

Yeah without meaning to excuse the board for their biscuit tin mentality, of all the years I think they have every right to be prudent this year. Match day revenue is massive for us and the lack of it will badly effect us, as well as the rest of Scottish football.


P.S. * the Tories.

 

I fear what will happen if we do claim 10IAR. Any push on the board to spend money on good non-SPL players will be gone.

 

The most important issue for the Celtic board right now is making sure we survive the pandemic in as good shape as possible. I support them 100% on that as I don't want to end up like the other mob with a pretend club .

 

I think we have had a good transfer window, especially in the current circumstances and it could be a great one if we get a solid lb/lwb in and keep all others.

I think you are wrong to have a go at the board this time, at least at this point

 

Sorry mate but considering the global pandemic, uncertainty regarding if the league will be completed and the reduced revenue you are 100% wrong. The board have sanctioned a fair few million spend on players but the real issue I have with this is, do you really think anyone on the board of Celtic don’t care about the 10?? If you do honestly think that then I don’t know where you’ve been the past few years. We cant get every player we try to sign, most have no affiliation to Celtic and therefore only think of the cash or they know our league is not that great and don’t fancy it. I think irrespective of last night’s result one will go, Christie wants away, well his Dad wants him to go, or maybe Ntcham again this will in the most part be down to the player either not signing a new contract (Christie) or angling for a move.

 

Window has been excellent so far, we've strengthed well through spine of the team, in spite of the pandemic.

A LWB or two and keep hold of all our stars we're good to go..

Not sure we can blame the board for anything, or read anything into what Lenny tells the Press, constantly contradicts himself.

 

People need to stop looking at the balance sheet and the club as separate entities - they are very much intertwined.

The reality is, we will on occasion have to make tough choices about which players we need to sell in order to reinvest, balance the books or whatever you want to call it.

We’re in a transfer window in the midst of a global pandemic where the club have signed a Premiership centre back and a Premiership midfielder, albeit both on loan. They signed a Premiership forward on a permanent and spent good money on a goalkeeper. We haven’t lost anyone we’ll really miss.

They’ve done well. If things don’t go well this season it won’t be on them.

 

Spot on.

We've spent about £14M and looks like we aren't finished yet. Even if we do sell one of Ajer/Ntcham/Rogic I don't think we can have a go at the board at all. Lennon has been well backed.

 

Sick of the negativity kicking about

Back every * in all areas of the club this season!!

Mon!!!!

 

I agree. When you consider the environment we are in. We don't even know if the season will finish but still we have got new players in. Can't be mad about our business so far

 

I just think, given the current upside down state of the world, the board have been very supportive of the manager.
Yes we urgently need a dynamic LWB and I am sure someone will arrive in the next few days, maybe a loan. And, we have always been a selling club so if we have to sell Nicham now to balance accounts/appease the bean counters/funs a LWB, so be it. The sale of a player like Nicham will not be the difference between getting or not getting 10IAR.
NL screwed up with Boli but that should not be held against him as he seeks to strengthen a position we are very weak in.
If we actively try to punt Nicham, that should secure for another season, first team players.

 

I agree right up until Rangers beat Galatasary opening up what looks like being an automatic CL spot I think over the next 48 hours we will see 1 or 2 additions to the squad maybe in LWB and RW

The potential of an automatic 30million to the board is greater carrot than TIAR

 

The potential of a automatic champions league spot doesn’t come into effect until 2022/23 season. Only chance we can get an automatic place is if we win the Europa League

 

Christ, I think with everything going on in the world and the effects on football and more importantly our income, blaming the board here is a bit poor.

Barkas and ajeti, £10million spent.
Turnbull, £3million spent?
High profile loans of Ely and Duffy.

Literally 5 key positions with 5 high profile players and what I will assume is over £15million in combined fees(both Ely and Duffy I imagine will be a fee of at least a million for the loan).

Clearly we need another left wingback/fullback and clearly we are chasing one.

Personally I want another centre back, but considering the club as a whole (board and management) seem to have settled for the amount we have for the last 4 years, I ain't holding out on getting another one.


As for the quoted comments, that's no news at all.
The board have clearly told us for over a decade now that we need to qualify for Europe. We know we need to get cl 2 out of 5 seasons at least, 3 out of 5 ideal (well 5 out of 5 would be).


So in terms of our financial situation, we haven't broken the barriers to gaining more champions League exposure, so the windfall from that is not here.
We are in the midst of a pandemic that has massive economical impacts, yet we have not sold a single player of note, not one that is making us weaker, in fact both barkas and ajeti make us stronger on the players we had permanently at the club last year (yes I'm being technical on the gordon/Forster thing).

I'm the first usually to put the boot in to the board, but this season of all seasons I think they've done fairly well by the club.
It'd be fairly obvious we would have needed to sell someone had we not made a group stage - that's the case literally every year - but we haven't needed to do that and Lennon's comments actually back to how well the board have backed the squad this year.

I'll be disappointed if we do not get a new left back/wingback in, but I believe that we will get someone.

The failings (which even though we have only droped 2 points and lost one game) are all down to the coach/management and nothing to do with the board this season.

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Probably is, the more assured idea there would maybe see them push it out a little more.
Maybe not this season though, but who knows.

My concern about the automatic spot is the Huns are full of confidence now and we are low on it. Still getting the wins, but every game feels like it could go either way at times.
The last thing we need is the Huns to actually ride that confidence and get that automatic spot, be it next year or whenever

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I'm more critical than most of the board but the only failing they've had this summer is not bringing in a LWB/LB; in hindsight letting go of Hayes seems a little naive.

They acted quickly to resign Forster and Moi, after Forster let us down they moved quickly and put up £4.5m for Barkas. They managed to get in Ajeti who cost £5m and was on EPL wages, more than we can pay. They've spent £3m on the best talent in Scotland, Turnbull. They've pushed the boat out to bring in Duffy who is on EPL wages...and they've done all of the above while retaining all our best players.

There's still time for a big bid to come in and one to be punted, if that happens then I hope we've got contingencies prepared.

If we manage to get in a LWB/LB in the next few days then it's our best window in memory for me. Then it's all on to the staff and players to repay that with success on the park.

 

100% this.

I agree the Board are more interested in business than success on the field but know the position they are in with COVID possibly impacting bums on seats in to next year.

If the Board along with the rest of the club fail to deliver the 10 due to penny pinching they know you won’t get the good will from those buying the season tickets with no guarantee of attending games next season.

The amount we have spent so far £13-15m is about what I would have expected us to spend but like most other seasons, I thought one or two would have been sold to fund this and make up the revenue shortfall from our football operations & stadium income due to COVID. But so far no one has gone and it looks like at most one may go.

The statement Lenny made about someone maybe having to go with no EL would not have been totally necessary given the reserves in the bank but not far off it.

As discussed in another thread previously we will make a loss this year having missed out on CL due to the reduction in football ops income and net spend on players. It is hard to know the full picture at present until the 19/20 accounts come out, which are due soon and also not knowing the impact business insurance is having on lost revenue.