Celtic Board and What should Happen next???

With all talk of financial oblivion for Scottish Football and a negative effect on Celtic. I don`t buy into this oblivion statement and the fact that media sources continue to devalue the product (Scottish Football), harms not only the clubs ability to negotiate but also their own futures.

From yesterday onwards and for sometime previous the Celtic Board should/would be working on a number of financial plans for the potential outcomes(as should all Scottish clubs).

As normal the fans are often left out of this sort of consultation; therefore to put yourself in the position of Lawell and Baniker.

In you opinion, How should Celtic proceed in the coming years???

 

If I'm honest, I don't even think this needs discussed. We were not working around the difficulties at Rangers. We are not working around any other clubs difficulties. We have already said we stand alone and our club will continue to progress with plans in place.

 

So if gate sharing and other financial changes are implemented by the gang of 10 we carry on with those plans regardless ?

 

If someone tries to change the ground rules then I'm confident they will be made amply aware of the precariousness of their own position.

I know there has been a lot of talk - on CQN especially - of gate sharing being railroaded through once there is an 11-1 majority of smaller clubs.

But the Rangers situation has another counterbalancing effect - that those smaller clubs become almost completely dependent on our away fans for survival. In my opinion they will be playing this softly softly, because if they * us off and we pull out of the league, they are all finito.

Having said that, I would hope that we ourselves are looking - as PL has said we are - at ways of protecting the more vulnerable clubs in this difficult time.

After all, we are transitioning to No Rangers. A little intermediate belt-tightening is a small price to pay.

 

Lawell has already stated that we have our own stand alone business structure and I'm pretty sure they've planned well in advance for the Huns not being in the SPL. That also goes for the other clubs, they've known this has been coming for months now so I'd hope their restructuring of their finances was already in motion.

 

That's the way I see it.

Also, this year has the potential to be the most profitable we have had in years. The possibility of a big money move for Ki and the Champions League?

 

There is going to need to be a very much revised business model for the Scottish game & hopefully this is not just at SPL level. The collapse of the Orcs has forever demonstrated to all clubs that there can be no future of unsustainable spending.

Truth be told, there is a golden opportunity here for the game as a whole to reform. All aspects of the Scottish game needs to be reviewed & it cannot be dependant on the participation of any particular club/s. From the format, number of teams in the top flight, reviewing the purpose of the split, summer football, the redistribution of revenues, the voting structure, youth development & draft, and many more besides.

There is no doubt that we have the wherewithal to weather whatever is in store, but there is no point in us doing so if no other clubs are able to. Given that we alone are now the flagship of the Scottish game, there is a responsibilty to provide leadership (something surely lacking amid the tangled web of corridors insode Hampden) & a degree of benevolence during the uncertain waters that lay ahead for the game.

I would suggest that there is scope for a short term sacrifice to have long term rewards. For example, it is in the best interests of the game as a whole that we forgo our share of the TV revenues generated from the existing domestic SPL deal, so long as we preserve our gate receipts & European revenues. If this was done for a limited period - say the life of the current deal or the next one to be agreed - then this would help sustain competition as well as provide our club with a valuable bargaining chip down the road, not to mention engendering goodwill - a commodity that may prove priceless in due course.

There is no point in Celtic trying to preserve the current vote & status quo. Celtic has a responsibility to acknowledge that without other teams to play then there is no league & this means that we need to actively participate in introducing positive changes that will be to the benefit of all. We cannot be seen to be obstinate or try to preserve a defunct status quo, because change is coming and we need to adapt to these as they emerge, whilst preserving our identity. How better to adapt than to be at the vanguard - to lead from the front?

In truth, we are in a strong & healthy position, and so long as prudence dictates there is no immediate cause for concern. Apart from continuing to explore possible exit routes from the Scottish game (especially now that we are no longer encumbered by supposedly being half of O** F***), and there may well be opportunities to this end in the coming years.

 

I don`t doubt this for a moment that Lawell and the board have several plans to deal with the current situation and hopefully the development of the club. After all Lawell and Co have a duty to its shareholders to be a profit making organisation.

What are these plans??

Can Celtic continue to justify Season Ticket prices, when the luxury of attending football is becoming less appealing???

If Celtic continue to be successful then we should be able to maintain a decent standard. I would stick my life on Celtic still being around but I also want Celtic to develop and explore these ways to there potential.

I also don`t believe that we should stand still and let things play out.

 

This is a good post and i agree that we should be leading the way and if it requires some form of financial assistance then so be it.The governing body's of scottish football need to be got rid of and have only one such body and maybe the lower leagues can become the breeding grounds for future spl players.It all makes absolute sense that this is the moment for major change but as we all know self intrest will come into play and the opportunity could be lost.

 

Well said, many of the points I agree with.

This is the point where the SFA/SPL should not be shirking their responsibility onto the shoulders of their member teams. They should be grasping this situation with both hands - showing cahones and punishing Zombie-Rangers to the letter of the law and then restructuring the faultering Scottish footballing systems for the best and helping out clubs who are ACTIVELY AND POSITIVELY contributing to this countries sporting needs - instead of doing everything in their power to "stick up" for the team that could have possibly contributed to Scottish football's downfall.

 

The Rangers situation affects Celtic. Only an idiot could argue against that.

 

I was going to reply something similar to Taz' post.
The bodies that run the football in this country need shot of and start from scratch.

As for Celtic. We could wave our tv finances as I'm sure I've heard that it makes only a pittance of what we bring in through other revenues. If it helps other teams get to a decent level, a level where they could make even the group stages of Europa League then it could be worth it.
Another thing we really need to be seeing is our youth system really starting to produce more than 1 player every few years. We're a big club, but a limited club and need to sell players brought in cheaply for a handsome profit.

Celtic here also need to meet with other clubs and use our knowledge to help these clubs to maximise profits and product, and prove to the doubters that this league WILL NOT die without huns.

 

Agree with that but if we are talking about long term improvement of the Scottish league I think all TV money including European TV revenue(A portion maybe 50% of what they contribute being kept by the clubs who compete in Europe) should be included in the central pot a portion of what is left going to SFL and the rest being shared between the rest of the SPL clubs.This way all clubs in Scotland benefit from European football whether they play in it or not.
This might slow Celtics progress on a European front but will go a long way to seeing clubs through the difficult times ahead
Gate sharing i am 100% against so we must find ways to spread whatever other income there is throughout Scottish football.
It is time for new ideas and a new way of looking at Scottish football surely we can put our heads together and come up with ways to benefit all the clubs in the long run

 

Celtic could loan out boys to SPL clubs almost free of charge....win win

 

Celtic can save Scottish football

We have countless players on our books between the ages of 12-22 that could be loaned out (not the kids at 12!) free of charge to SFL and SPL clubs.

This would harden them up, give them game time and give the other team a Celtic prospect in their first team.