The board

I don't think there's any reason we're sitting on a pile of gold. If it was intended for something (e.g., stadium expansion), they would presumably just tell us to shut us up, even if they could only sketch out its purpose in vague terms.

They have a transfer strategy they've identified as low risk and profitable: a) sign promising players from developing markets for £1m or less; b) sign players from established markets who are significantly underpriced.

The underlying problem is that they are incredibly risk averse and so split their investments to mitigate risk. If you invest £10m into one player, you effectively have one 'chance' that they gain or lose value through development. If you split that investment across ten £1m players, you basically get ten rolls of the dice. That makes good sense if you're investing in the stock market but we're not - we're investing in players.

We can't buy ten players for £1m because we can't hope to develop them all. We need players good enough for regular first-team football and we don't have the pull to secure meaningful loans for unknown players. A players' value is tied to a club's reputation and the reputation of the league they play in - loaning a new signing out to Queen's Park is pointless if our eventual intent is to sell them at profit. If they can't fit into our first team, there is a very minimal chance that they will gain significant value.

In fact, the strategy is even more self-defeating than this example implies, because we don't just have £10m in the bank, but tens of millions. We are in an economy where inflation almost always outstrips interest rates, meaning that every day that money is sitting idle, we are in fact losing money. And football inflation is so incredible (think about how much player prices have gone up in even the last few years), that we are both missing the gravy train by not investing the money in players now and reducing our purchasing power by saving it for later investment.

I would argue that this strategy is so negligent that if Celtic were anything other than a football club, the board would be at risk of civil action for neglect of its fiduciary duties. In fact, it wouldn't even get to this point because minority shareholders would never stand for it - they'd seek a change in directors or simply sell up. As things stand, an almost total lack of meaningful shareholder pressure means the board can run the company like its a private entity, behaving incredibly conversatively in an insanely bullish market.

 

I mean how hard is it to agree a price? Ask the team how much they want, if its fair then pay it and if not haggle down a little or move on.

This * of lowballing teams with several offers is getting tiresome, the board might be in for a shock at weekend if things don’t change.

 

They really need to come out and explain their strategy more I think. Its not good to have such a disconnect between the fanbase and those running the club.

Its possible to guess at their thinking behind how they operate but when that starts to make no sense then it would be helpful to engage more.

Im ok with the board being risk averse to a point. Im ok with them wanting a healthy cash reserve. Im probably more sympathetic than most to the challenges the club faces playing out of Scotland relative to the majority of teams we are trying to compete with. But Id like to know what the board thinks are acceptable cash reserves to sit on vs investment in the team. Even if they came out and send we want cash reserves of 100MM and every penny over that goes back into the team - at least thats something to work with. Id like to know if we sell 30M worth of players what we can roughly expect to see go back into the team. And the reasoning behind that.

But sitting on the cash reserves they have and spending weeks haggling down teams over chump change - how does this fit into any credible strategy at all?

 

They don’t have a strategy the money grabbing shower of *. Cheapskates with no modern or forward vision. As long as these parasites are running the club we will never move forward.

 

Guys i'm all in agreement with how much this board holds us back...the risks they take....The way the treat fans and their own manager........and i also want them gone as i * hate them...But (and i am not on the boards side here) They gave Rodgers over £25 million last season regardless of what we made and sold before it.....and he looks like he has * it all up with the signings.

So with the predicament he is not going to be here within 12 months and what he has done with the transfers already would you trust him and the scouts with say another £25 million?

I know we need players in...I know we are playing hardball and being tossers in the transfer window......but again what if Rodgers and the scouting dept spend another £25 million on dog * again?

We can identify players like Nygren and co on a far smaller budget and they already look far superior to Engels/Idah and Trusty.....So the scouting recently looks far better than last seasons.

We can pick up great players a lot cheaper.....so its not just about the money...These * just want us ahead of the Huns to make it look good for rivalry etc.

The * hold us back every * year and play roulette to see if we get into the CL with all the awards and money...We need to get rid of them.

Im sick of hearing and seeing us as near the only club on the planet in the Green financially.

As i said yesterday....If Rodgers was committed more and put his name down on paper for another 2 years i believe this would be a lot smoother....But with 1 year left and again the money spent on * i can see why these * are holding back this season.

Sadly Fans again pay the price...We spend hundreds if not thousands a year spending money on the club....3 new tops/Season tickets/merchandise etc

I honestly think action is needed now against the board...

As for Rodgers and being here for 1 more season....I genuinely think this is gonna end in an absolute * of a season....I hope im * wrong.

But i think its time now real pressure is put on this board to either back every manager that comes in....or * off and let another board in that has a vison of taking us forward.

 

They are really underestimating the undercurrent of anger that is simmering amongst the support.

Even people who blindly defended them before are starting to turn.

The first bad result and the stadium will be absolutely toxic unfortunately, and so easily avoidable.

 

I'm convinced with my tin foil hat firmly sat upon my head.

That this * boring routine of giving a manager the room to show success in season 1 and then very slowly draw up the bridge and cut off support is because somewhere these * also maneuver to make huge personal profits in "downturns" as much as they initially profit from record revenues when we see a new face come in and the positive revenues reach new levels.

It's getting boring now and this whole manager cycle barely seeing through seasons is wearing real * thin in light of all the money that is flowing into the club.

 

We have plenty of money though. Not investing in the team because you are afraid the money wont represent value for money just isnt a credible option with the reserves we have. Last season we still made a profit and also made a profit on player trading. If there were any lessons to take from last year it ws that leaving things too late in the window is liable to leave you paying over the odds. But we look to be heading for the same mistake.

We may well end up spending another 15m this window and getting a few good additions in. I still think the plan is to bring in more players. But its like after have had a good start to the window they have just put the skates on and tried to do everything on the absolute cheap before the end of window approaches - where they will probably end up spending.

This is where I think we need a more open commitment from the board. If we knew they pledged to re-invest 80% of player sales back into the team, or every pound above a certain amount held in cash reserve then there would be less drama and more chance of the support base being on the same wavelength.

 

20MinuteTims aren't holding back...

 

The thing is, do we need cash reserves? What for?

We have a billionaire owner and presumably as a profitable club our credit is pretty good. What eventuality do we need immediate cash reserves for?

Because if it's simply long-term surplus cash that isn't needed for investment in players, then it should be in bonds, or gilts, or stock. All of that is presumably preferable to whatever interest-bearing accounts could be negotiated in the current climate.

It's stuff like this that just makes me think they're entirely negligent. They penny-pinch on transfer deals and then throw money away elsewhere. I just can't wrap my head round it.

 

Even if Engels, Trusty and Idah have not been the success we hoped they would for the price, they still played a part in us winning the double and another shot at the CL. That doesn't wash as an excuse to not back BR just now. It all just reeks of this board trying to do everything on the cheap to keep our bank balance in massive credit, for whatever reason.

 

This is what they need to do a better job communicating to the support.

We depend on Europe and player trading to a large degree for our Revenue. I guess they have a good understanding of the revenue flows. I think they have created a structure that would see us sustain ourselves at a Europa League level of European income.

When we get windfalls from player trading or champions league though, ok some of that you might expect to be held back as a buffer but its really not clear to anyone why such high reserves are being held.

When we are paying 7mil in tax but haggling over a couple of million to strengthen an area of the team that needs immediate attention then of course you are going to sow discontent and confusion.

 

Depressing..

 

Imagine this * scenario.....We dont make the CL due to the penny pinching * and the Huns make it through by spending any spare cash they have.....even if its on *.

Parkhead would be toxic as *.

 

Sadly if we didn’t qualify and the Huns won the league that’s exactly when the board would act and release money to really strengthen the team. They react when we fall behind but are happy to gamble on staying just in front. Our form the last couple of months of the season was a huge warning. Not a * given it seems

 

Unfortunately its clear at this point that your right.

 

Why are we paying directors top dollar when they're obviously not fit purpose unless they're doing as DD demands