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The Board - general discussion (including Res 12); notes from the AGM
Topic Started: 15 Jul 2014, 12:03 AM (1,414,914 Views)
jim62
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up on the roof!!

sevilliano
28 Aug 2014, 11:41 PM
Iydllwild posted yesterday that he couldn't bring himself to post the reasons why he'd ended up where he is now with Celtic and thinking it through I can see why but drink has been taken and I'm not angry but sad

However I think I'm a few years further down the road of cynicism but I do think the case for Celtic being far better than it is can be made without being sentimental

Born into a Celtic supporting family but whose first memories are feyenoord (not paying players?) and thistle whilst young at time of glory years it really is in subconscious rather than in memory

The real shock was healthy competition of early to mid 80s giving way to the Holmes Murray souness world where we we effed and the families who owned Celtic could not cope with banked backed entrepreneurs

Celtic in my formative years were a team filled with likes of burns provan Nicholas mccluskey - really nowhere on a par with 65-74 but a football team you could identify with and would make an effort to see because it was entertaining (albeit not when keepers let us down time and again)

We were not european giants but we were competent - losing to notts forest or sociedad was no disgrace and was close fought with good teams against us

So I don't dream of European glory and I've sat and watched the corrupt hun eff us through dark days at hampden ibrox etc etc

The arrival of fergus didn't fill me with joy cause I could see from working for him that his driver was his return

That it coincided with us stopping 10iar was luck for us and fergus because honestly he wouldn't change short term for long term but whilst that is commendable that strategy is medium long term and not fixated on short term in his reign
Things have gone far askew since then

Fergus put 9m of his own money into Celtic for a return and having got it left

Dermot took up the slack but provides no direction or strategy since then

In basic terms dermot debted up the business under mon to compete with the hun and enjoyed high profile euro success then left it to his accountant since 2004 to drive the debt and business down

But in the meantime the euphoria of saving the club stopping 10 and achieving relative success in Europe and watching the demise of the hun over the last 8 years we've seen a club going nowhere

And really when the music stops you see that no one has been watching the football shop, that no one has kept alive the relationship between Celtic it's fans and football

We have moved from the useless rump of whytes and Kellys trying to play at business whilst extracting their inheritance on a bi weekly basis through our VC fergus to end up at a useless rump practised at property development, remuneration committees but with no commitment to football or Celtic

I think these guys who control, run our club fail because they either they don't give a flying one or can't be bothered looking at what makes a club work decade after decade - and it's not the balance sheet in their language it's the intangible

Not because they are taking the piss over money - dermot could make more elsewhere and pl could make close to what he earns at Celtic - but because they don't get it - they are focused on finance

My family in part supported Celtic because it was a catholic club but for a large part because it was a football club who played football - not kick and rush of the hun, not the bigotry of the hun

And that held true through the 80s as the legacy of lions and quality street filtered through

Since then though despite the slogans we've become just another club and as the corporate boys play their games we've moved further and further from being a football club based on the values of stein

So we fail as as corporate money making machine in a tiny country marginalised in uefa terms

But more so we fail because the core has been lost - of developing the identity of Celtic, of football, of youth, of community, of charity

We have football in the community officers at Celtic being tasked with being profit centres !! We have first team players being paid 1/10 of the CEO, it's effin mental how far away we've got from doing the basics right


60,000 people will come and support this football team because of a legacy and it's a good legacy

If only they understood that if they made a fist of understanding that they have to make the best of the environment we operate in by being a truly exceptional football club from youth upwards that would be enough

Instead in some kind of blairite new Celtic they try to persuade us that their way is the only way and we should be thankful as they spout pish and take their money year after year leaving others trying to work off fundamentally flawed club to shield them

Unlike idyll wild eff it I'll post it


Have just read this

Do we still have a post of the month award :worthy:
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Bob Loblaw
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Lester Burnham
29 Aug 2014, 11:41 PM
tinsoldier
29 Aug 2014, 11:27 PM
Bob Loblaw
29 Aug 2014, 11:23 PM

Quoting limited to 3 levels deep
Always remember a conversation I had with my Uncle at half-time against Milan back in 2004. We were talking about their side and how we couldn't attract players of that calibre to Celtic.

My Uncle said "Pay them £60,000 a week and they will"

Now that was never going to happen then, but the sentiment remains. Give a quality player, a striker, a decent wage, even if it breaks the effing wage cap whatever that is, and they'll wear the hoops.

That won't happen tho.

When you start paying wages like that sooner or later other players will want parity.
Of course it wont happen but what we're saying is players don't really give a eff where they're playing or who they're up against, as long as they're getting paid highest amount they can.
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Zurawski 7
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Bob Loblaw
30 Aug 2014, 12:06 AM
Lester Burnham
29 Aug 2014, 11:41 PM
tinsoldier
29 Aug 2014, 11:27 PM

Quoting limited to 3 levels deep
That won't happen tho.

When you start paying wages like that sooner or later other players will want parity.
Of course it wont happen but what we're saying is players don't really give a eff where they're playing or who they're up against, as long as they're getting paid highest amount they can.
dont think thats true tbh. virgil isnt desperate to leave just for more money. same with hooper. hooper probably earned very little more than if he stayed with us after bonuses were factored in

i think its too simplistic to say we can attract players by offering decent money. if they are decent players they are likely to have other offers the same if not more lucrative as well as in much better leagues.

i think too many people understate just how hard it is to get players to come to scotland right now
Edited by Zurawski 7, 30 Aug 2014, 12:10 AM.
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antrimkev
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get him out to feck
what is his contract? what is he doing to earn the 1 million etc?

was he not doing an interview on clyde last night?
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The Vagabond
I'm new. Be gentle.
So taking that to its logical conclusion, if it's so difficult to bring in new players to Scotland, when you have guys like Hooper and Ledley who wanted to stay, does it not make more sense to meet them halfway on salary rather than take the risk that we can't replace them? Plus, the lack of consistency of selection due to the sale of anyone of any value does the team no favours. Our philosophy I agree with, its implementation is all wrong.
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Zurawski 7
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antrimkev
30 Aug 2014, 12:26 AM
get him out to feck
what is his contract? what is he doing to earn the 1 million etc?

was he not doing an interview on clyde last night?
not challenged on anything though. this pretty much sums up what he said

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/lawwell-celtic-among-best-run-clubs-in-world-1-3525679
Quote:
 

Lawwell: Celtic among best-run clubs in world

PETER Lawwell has mounted a robust defence of his stewardship of Celtic, claiming the Scottish champions are one of “the best run clubs in the world”.

In the wake of Celtic’s elimination from the Champions League this week, chief executive Lawwell has borne the brunt of criticism from supporters angered by what they regard as insufficient investment in the playing squad.

He admits to finding the personal abuse directed towards him hurtful but remains confident that what he describes as the “silent majority” of Celtic fans understand and back the strategy in place at the club.

Lawwell insists Celtic remain highly ambitious but must manage those aspirations within a depressed financial environment in Scottish football where he says the collapse of Rangers has proved more costly to their Old Firm rivals than to any other club.

Reiterating his backing for new manager Ronny Deila, who he says has faced a “sh*tstorm” in his first two months in the job, Lawwell has committed himself to helping the Norwegian enjoy a successful tenure at the club.

“We are bitterly disappointed at going out of the Champions League and we share the pain,” said Lawwell. “But the accusations and the push for us to spend, spend, spend are just too simple and superficial. There needs to be more realism about the Scottish football environment and where we are as a club in that. It’s tough and there are real challenges.

“If you get away from this madness, this frenzy in the west of Scotland, then we are recognised wherever you go in Europe as one of the best-run clubs in Europe, if not the world. That is on and off the pitch. I’ve been here 11 years and, if we win the title again this season, that will be eight times in that period. We’ve also been in the group stage of the Champions League seven times. That’s in the same period that has seen Rangers and Hearts go bust.

“The consequences of Rangers going bust and starting off at the bottom is that it has taken millions out of the game. The consequences are that every club – Celtic more than others – have lost out short-term financially. We have bridged that gap by selling players. That’s the consequence of it.

“We don’t have a title sponsor for the SPFL, the broadcasting deal is poor and on the way down. Our own fans, in terms of engagement, are saying ‘Well, we are going to win the league’. Competition is the lifeblood of sport – where is the competition? Revenues are coming down and we have pretty smartly seen that coming, invested in our recruitment to have good players who will move on for more money to fill that gap.

“In terms of investment, our policy is that every penny that comes into the club is reinvested in the club. There is no pile of cash sitting there. It doesn’t exist, it is fantasy. We have a wee bit of cash reserve, which gives us stability, and money we can invest on the right players.

“Martin O’Neill spent over £40m, Gordon Strachan £38m, Neil Lennon over £30m and even Tony Mowbray was around £14m. We back our managers financially and in every other aspect. Those are the facts, but the frustration is those facts are not getting through to people, or else they don’t want to listen to them.

“We will take on debt if we need to, but you cannot give more than everything. You cannot put the club into long-term jeopardy by being reckless. We do not have to look too far to see what happens if you do that.

“We could buy a £4m, £5m or £6m player who is value. But the consequences of that are he would want the £50k to £70k a week he would get elsewhere. That screws up your wage structure when you already have great players here who would make a case [for the same]. In the context of Scottish football, a £50k-a-week player would actually be more than Aberdeen, Dundee United or any other Premiership club’s wage bill by himself.

“You have to attract players here and keep them here. We’ve made many, many offers and players have said ‘No thanks, we don’t want to come up there’. It’s the same with keeping players. We don’t want to sell our big players. We don’t have to and we don’t want to. But unfortunately the golden league is only 90 miles away – not just for money, but for reputation, style and everything else.

“We still have just under 40,000 season ticket holders. Number one, a Celtic supporter supports the club through thick and thin. He is supporting a team which is the best in Scotland by a mile, a club which has ambition and which is one of the best-run clubs in the world. What’s the benchmark? When you compare it to every other club in Scotland, in every aspect, Celtic are miles ahead. In very difficult circumstances, we are still on the right track.

“In terms of the [personal] abuse, I am a Celtic supporter and have been all my life. It hurts and the pain hurts in terms of results. I feel more for my family – my brothers, kids, wife and cousins who all go to the games. I feel responsible for them and bringing that on them. But you either put up with it or you don’t. That is the business we are in, it is frenzied and hysterical. You either say ‘Okay’ and deal with or you say ‘Adios’.

“I’ve had a few offers [to move to other clubs] but I always made the decision to stay. I love the club. Anywhere else would be just a job. Here, it is a passion. I also have a loyalty to [major shareholder] Dermot Desmond and the rest of the board, but it is the club which keeps me here.

“I also have a responsibility to Ronny Deila. I want him to do well and take things on for the club. It’s been a tough start but he has coped well. He has a lot of fantastic ideas. He fits into what we are trying to do here.

“He has come in after a Celtic legend and successful manager in Neil Lennon, he’s had a transfer window to deal with and a Champions League qualifying campaign, while trying to impose a change of philosophy and way of doing things.

“It’s been a baptism of fire, a bit of a sh*tstorm. That chapter is closed now, albeit not with a happy ending in terms of the result against Maribor, but we move on.

“He’s going to build his own team now and do what he wants to do without that short-term pressure.”
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Quiet Assasin
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I'm going to Dropkick this tadger
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Bob Loblaw
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Zurawski 7
30 Aug 2014, 12:10 AM
Bob Loblaw
30 Aug 2014, 12:06 AM
Lester Burnham
29 Aug 2014, 11:41 PM

Quoting limited to 3 levels deep
Of course it wont happen but what we're saying is players don't really give a eff where they're playing or who they're up against, as long as they're getting paid highest amount they can.
dont think thats true tbh. virgil isnt desperate to leave just for more money. same with hooper. hooper probably earned very little more than if he stayed with us after bonuses were factored in

i think its too simplistic to say we can attract players by offering decent money. if they are decent players they are likely to have other offers the same if not more lucrative as well as in much better leagues.

i think too many people understate just how hard it is to get players to come to scotland right now
If we offered van Dijk a new £50k a week contract he'd want to stay.

This is all hypothetical really though, we're not going to be able to offer more than the clubs in the bigger leagues :(
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Winds of Change CSC
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FFS

I promised myself that I would on no account watch the pish being peddled by Lord Charlatan of Parkhead.

A bottle of wine later and it was too late, the damage was done.

What a deluded pumpkin this man is to come out with the absolute shampoo he has and expect us as a support to believe anything he says. Total garbage he was spouting, lies even, incredible, even for him.

What is clear is that more and more of our support are finally seeing right through this clown and his patronising pish, I am hearing less and less these days from his usual apologists. He has sold us down the river along with the family silver and then tells us we are all too dumb to understand!!!

Your right there Pedro, we were indeed dumb, dumb to believe anything you ever said.

Just GTF and take your pathetic hyperbole with you.
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antrimkev
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Zurawski 7
30 Aug 2014, 12:35 AM
antrimkev
30 Aug 2014, 12:26 AM
get him out to feck
what is his contract? what is he doing to earn the 1 million etc?

was he not doing an interview on clyde last night?
not challenged on anything though. this pretty much sums up what he said

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/lawwell-celtic-among-best-run-clubs-in-world-1-3525679
Quote:
 

Lawwell: Celtic among best-run clubs in world

PETER Lawwell has mounted a robust defence of his stewardship of Celtic, claiming the Scottish champions are one of “the best run clubs in the world”.

In the wake of Celtic’s elimination from the Champions League this week, chief executive Lawwell has borne the brunt of criticism from supporters angered by what they regard as insufficient investment in the playing squad.

He admits to finding the personal abuse directed towards him hurtful but remains confident that what he describes as the “silent majority” of Celtic fans understand and back the strategy in place at the club.

Lawwell insists Celtic remain highly ambitious but must manage those aspirations within a depressed financial environment in Scottish football where he says the collapse of Rangers has proved more costly to their Old Firm rivals than to any other club.

Reiterating his backing for new manager Ronny Deila, who he says has faced a “sh*tstorm” in his first two months in the job, Lawwell has committed himself to helping the Norwegian enjoy a successful tenure at the club.

“We are bitterly disappointed at going out of the Champions League and we share the pain,” said Lawwell. “But the accusations and the push for us to spend, spend, spend are just too simple and superficial. There needs to be more realism about the Scottish football environment and where we are as a club in that. It’s tough and there are real challenges.

“If you get away from this madness, this frenzy in the west of Scotland, then we are recognised wherever you go in Europe as one of the best-run clubs in Europe, if not the world. That is on and off the pitch. I’ve been here 11 years and, if we win the title again this season, that will be eight times in that period. We’ve also been in the group stage of the Champions League seven times. That’s in the same period that has seen Rangers and Hearts go bust.

“The consequences of Rangers going bust and starting off at the bottom is that it has taken millions out of the game. The consequences are that every club – Celtic more than others – have lost out short-term financially. We have bridged that gap by selling players. That’s the consequence of it.

“We don’t have a title sponsor for the SPFL, the broadcasting deal is poor and on the way down. Our own fans, in terms of engagement, are saying ‘Well, we are going to win the league’. Competition is the lifeblood of sport – where is the competition? Revenues are coming down and we have pretty smartly seen that coming, invested in our recruitment to have good players who will move on for more money to fill that gap.

“In terms of investment, our policy is that every penny that comes into the club is reinvested in the club. There is no pile of cash sitting there. It doesn’t exist, it is fantasy. We have a wee bit of cash reserve, which gives us stability, and money we can invest on the right players.

“Martin O’Neill spent over £40m, Gordon Strachan £38m, Neil Lennon over £30m and even Tony Mowbray was around £14m. We back our managers financially and in every other aspect. Those are the facts, but the frustration is those facts are not getting through to people, or else they don’t want to listen to them.

“We will take on debt if we need to, but you cannot give more than everything. You cannot put the club into long-term jeopardy by being reckless. We do not have to look too far to see what happens if you do that.

“We could buy a £4m, £5m or £6m player who is value. But the consequences of that are he would want the £50k to £70k a week he would get elsewhere. That screws up your wage structure when you already have great players here who would make a case [for the same]. In the context of Scottish football, a £50k-a-week player would actually be more than Aberdeen, Dundee United or any other Premiership club’s wage bill by himself.

“You have to attract players here and keep them here. We’ve made many, many offers and players have said ‘No thanks, we don’t want to come up there’. It’s the same with keeping players. We don’t want to sell our big players. We don’t have to and we don’t want to. But unfortunately the golden league is only 90 miles away – not just for money, but for reputation, style and everything else.

“We still have just under 40,000 season ticket holders. Number one, a Celtic supporter supports the club through thick and thin. He is supporting a team which is the best in Scotland by a mile, a club which has ambition and which is one of the best-run clubs in the world. What’s the benchmark? When you compare it to every other club in Scotland, in every aspect, Celtic are miles ahead. In very difficult circumstances, we are still on the right track.

“In terms of the [personal] abuse, I am a Celtic supporter and have been all my life. It hurts and the pain hurts in terms of results. I feel more for my family – my brothers, kids, wife and cousins who all go to the games. I feel responsible for them and bringing that on them. But you either put up with it or you don’t. That is the business we are in, it is frenzied and hysterical. You either say ‘Okay’ and deal with or you say ‘Adios’.

“I’ve had a few offers [to move to other clubs] but I always made the decision to stay. I love the club. Anywhere else would be just a job. Here, it is a passion. I also have a loyalty to [major shareholder] Dermot Desmond and the rest of the board, but it is the club which keeps me here.

“I also have a responsibility to Ronny Deila. I want him to do well and take things on for the club. It’s been a tough start but he has coped well. He has a lot of fantastic ideas. He fits into what we are trying to do here.

“He has come in after a Celtic legend and successful manager in Neil Lennon, he’s had a transfer window to deal with and a Champions League qualifying campaign, while trying to impose a change of philosophy and way of doing things.

“It’s been a baptism of fire, a bit of a sh*tstorm. That chapter is closed now, albeit not with a happy ending in terms of the result against Maribor, but we move on.

“He’s going to build his own team now and do what he wants to do without that short-term pressure.”
was that not the interview he done on Celtic TV?

I though he was going to answer a few unscripted questions on clyde?
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Zurawski 7
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More guff. some of it valid of course but still no excuse for not strenghtening before the qualifiers this summer.
Quote:
 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2738169/Celtic-chief-executive-Peter-Lawwell-There-no-pile-cash-money-invest-right-players.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Celtic's Champions League exit to Maribor has placed the Parkhead club’s plc board under fire.

In the aftermath of a 1-0 defeat to the Slovenians, 200 supporters gathered in the Parkhead car park to protest, venting their frustrations at chief executive Peter Lawwell.

Accused of failing to invest the club’s recent profits in new players, downsizing and putting the Champions League place at risk unnecessarily, Lawwell chose to bite back at his de-tractors.

Here, in a wide-ranging question and answer session, Sportsmail poses the big questions.

How do you feel about the personal abuse on Tuesday night and in recent weeks?

‘You have to look where it is coming from. There is a silent majority who do appreciate it because the facts are there.

‘Okay, there has been one game with huge disappointment but look what has been done.

‘If people scratch the surface they will see that.

‘In terms of the abuse, I am a Celtic supporter and have been all my life. It hurts and the pain hurts in terms of results.

‘In terms of my family, brothers, kids, wife and cousins that is who I feel for.

‘They all go to the games and I feel responsible for them and bringing that on them. But you either put up with it or you don’t. That is the business we are in, it is frenzied and hysterical.’

Have you ever been tempted to throw in the towel and leave Celtic after 10 years at the helm?

‘Of course, you are tempted but I always made the decision to stay here. I’ve had a few offers.

“I love this club - anything else would be a job but here it is a passion. I also have a loyalty to Dermot Desmond (major shareholder) and I like working for the board, but it is the club.’

How do you reflect on the Champions League set-back?

‘Firstly, we are bitterly disappointed at what has happened, obviously.

‘We are all sharing the pain. We thought we could go through, we wanted to go through but we go on. We have to keep the head, not panic and go in as we are.

‘It is very thin margins. We qualified last year because the ball hit the bar. It didn’t hit the bar this time. It is very thin lines.

‘We’ve been in the Champions League in the last two years, we’ve won the league by a canter in that time. Hopefully this year we’ll continue in the league and strengthen the squad.

‘The disappointment came on Tuesday but it’s thin lines.

‘If Demba Ba heads in against Arsenal they’d have been out. That’s the sort of level of competition we’re at. That’s football.’

You've been accused across the board of a lack of investment in new players?

‘The push for spend, spend, spend is just too simple, too superficial. You need to be cleverer especially in Scottish football environment.

‘That is one thing that is coming through is that there needs to be a bit more understanding or realism about what the Scottish football environment is and where we are in a club in that. It is tough and there are real challenges.

‘In terms of investment our policy our commitment is that every penny that comes into the club will be reinvested, it will go back into the club. I do not think we can be clearer than that. There is no pile of cash sitting there that we could look at, watch, feel and touch. It doesn’t exist. It is fantasy.

‘We have a wee bit of cash reserve, which gives us stability, and we have money we can invest on the right players. We can do it at the right time and we have a track record of doing that.

‘Lenny spent over £30m, wee Gordon £38m, Martin was over £40m and Tony Mowbray was even £13-14m. We do back our managers financially and in every other aspect. Those are the facts.

‘The frustration is that these facts do not get through or people do not want to listen and are not taking them in.

‘We invest the money, it all goes back in. We can accept the challenge is replacing the players who leave with the same quality. That’s a constant challenge - you get some right, you get some wrong. Over the piece, we’ve got more right than wrong.

‘For Fraser Forster going, we’ve got Craig Gordon. For Kelvin Wilson, we got Virgil van Dijk. For Gary Hooper? Have we replaced him? Good question. But it’s not for the want of trying. That’s judgment and you do get some things wrong. Every club does.’

Fans are asking ‘where has the money gone?’ Could you have spent money sooner?

‘If you look at our accounts, there is no massive pile there that is being stockpiled. It is straightforward and that is the frustration.

‘We cannot be clearer. We cannot give more than everything. We will be flexible with debt as we have been in the past.

‘We will take on debt if we need to take but you cannot put the club - by going reckless - into jeopardy in the long term.

‘We did not have too look too far to see what happens. Over the period in my time, if you get away from this madness, this frenzy in the West of Scotland, we are recognised, as one of the best run clubs in Europe. If not the world.

‘That is off the pitch and on the pitch in the last 10, 11 years - if we win the title this year, we have won it eight times. We have been in the Champions League group stages seven times, the last 16 stage three times, and at the same time Rangers and Hearts have gone bust.

‘So you are saying: ‘What is going on?’

‘It’s madness. Absolute madness.’

Have you tried – and failed – to spend on players?

‘In the overall environment of Scottish football, it’s really challenging at the moment. Yet we are still having a go. We won the league by 29 points last season.

‘You want to get into the Champions League every time. What are the alternatives? We could buy a £4m, £5m or £6m player who is value. But the consequences of that are he would want the £50k to £70k a week he would get elsewhere.

‘That screws up your wage structure when you already have great players here who would make a case (for the same).

‘You have to attract players here and keep them here. We’ve made many offers and players have said “No thanks, we don’t want to come up there”.

‘It’s the same with keeping players. We don’t want to sell our big players. We don’t have to. But unfortunately the golden league is only 90 miles away - not just for money but for reputation, style and everything else.

‘What else do we do? We have to be clever, smarter. We have to bring in players who are undervalued, no matter where they come from, and develop them.’

But if you made £10m profit last year can’t you spend a large chunk of that on new signings?

‘That’s too simple. It’s all about value. We invest when we think there is value. Selling players now, in effect, pays the bills. It keeps Celtic Park at the level it’s at.

‘It keeps Lennoxtown at the level it’s at and maintains how we treat our staff, everything.

‘It keeps us at, I think, a Champions League level.

‘The revenue has dropped but we’re still at this level because of the profit from players.’

So what’s the problem with giving fans the £6m players they crave?

‘Let’s take Steven Fletcher, who would cost £6m to £7m and is on £37,000 a week and is 27.

‘That is a huge investment. You would go for Fletcher if there was a deal to be done for him on loan or such like.

‘But do they want to come and play in Scotland? We have had knock backs from much lesser players than that level.

‘If they want to come and play here there is then the difficulty of their salary.

‘You sign them and then the consequence of that is an unhappy dressing room with unhappy players. It’s not easy.’

But surely spending £1m on a raft of unknown strikers was a gamble?

‘There is a lot of money wisely invested - but yes. There are errors we have made and the striker is the most important position.

‘We have made errors but I don’t think it’s a gamble. We do our work. You either get it right or you get it wrong.

‘For all the wrongs we’ve had Wanyama, Ki, Hooper, van Dijk, Adam Matthews, Lustig. You could go on and on.

‘But the striker is a fair criticism. Last year when Hooper went you would think that what we brought in could have done better than we have done.

‘That is accepted, but it happens.’

How do you respond to suggestions Celtic have ‘downsized?’

‘What do people mean by downsizing? That means cutting back. Well, in order to keep Celtic at a level with revenues dropping, we are looking at our wage bill. Every other club in Scotland, perhaps with the exception of Aberdeen at the moment, are doing the same.

‘We don’t have a title sponsor for the SPFL, the broadcasting deal is poor and on the way down. Our own fans, in terms of engagement, are saying “Well, we are going to win the league”. Competition is the lifeblood of sport - where is the competition?

‘Revenues are coming down and we have pretty smartly seen that coming, invested in our recruitment to have good players who will move on for more money to fill that gap.

‘So downsizing? No. We are still investing the same amount of money. Our wage bill is still the same and we’ve been able to maintain it on the profit from selling players.’

People are also asking why Celtic don’t sign Scottish players any more?

‘We have looked at them. Somebody said Johnny Russell but he isn’t even in Gordon Strachan’s team. Stevie May, we looked at him but no and Andrew Robertson we had before and at £3m you can make your own decision on that.

‘Callum MacGregor and Craig Gordon are in the Scottish pool.

‘So if we stay in this current environment it will depends on how good we are at doing our jobs, ie finding good players, bringing them here and developing them and selling them on.’

Ronny Deila has had a tough start as manager. How has he done?

‘I think he’s coped well. I think he is following a great Celtic manager, a Celtic legend, which brings its difficulties.

‘He is young. He has a lot of fantastic ideas. He’s progressive, he’s intelligent and he develops players, which fits what we’re trying to do here. Nothing prepares you for Celtic, nothing.

‘Even Lenny, nothing prepares you for that job. That’s No1.

‘No2, he’s got the transfer window to deal with, speculation about players coming, players want to go.

‘He’s got in his own mind a change of philosophy, a change of systems and ways of doing things. And he’s got to qualify for the Champions League. So it’s a bit of a baptism of fire. Getting his own staff together as well.

‘That Champions League chapter has closed. Not a happy ending, but it’s closed and we move on. There’s a bit of .. not relief ... but he is now going to go on and build his team and do what he wants to do without that short-term pressure. Hopefully he’s got that year in order to go and test things and take things on.’

Are Celtic having to manage the decline across the Scottish game?

‘Three years ago we were being told Celtic need Rangers, disaster, Armageddon the whole thing is going to fall apart.

‘At the time I said we don’t because we have a strategy that is not dependent on any other club and we are independent. That strategy is what we are doing and part of that is to bring players here and sell them to make a profit.

‘We have lost million over the period in terms of Rangers not being here and the way Scottish football is at the moment.

‘You do not want to talk it down too much because that does not help anybody: we do not have a sponsor, the broadcast is back, and we do not have Rangers so in order to keep our numbers up in the last two years we have given £4m back to the season ticket holders in this £100 discount.

‘So the way we have maintained our revenues is by making a profit in selling players. It is straightforward.

“We can be too negative. We need to watch. There are huge challenges there with Scottish football at the moment. If you’re too negative it could be self fulfilling.’

If Rangers had been in the Premiership and spending money would you have changed anything?

‘Our income would have been different yeah. Our outgoings too.

‘Rangers going out has taken a lot of money out, not just for Celtic but out of the game. No question.

‘With Hearts going out of the league too, with Hibs, that’s taken money out of the game.

‘To be fair to us we said “no, we have a strategy, we know where we’re going” and we’ve delivered on that.

‘The consequences of Rangers going bust and starting off in the bottom is that it has taken millions out of the game.

‘The consequences are that every club – Celtic more than others – have lost out short term financially.’

DO you fear for the future welfare of the Scottish game?

‘I worry about the game. The main challenge for us is keeping that line of talent flowing.

‘If someone is going out we need to get as good or better coming in.

‘That’s the task. We will stand or fall on that in the coming years. But my concern is for the game in general.

‘There is a colonisation of the game in Scotland by the English Premiership. You are beginning to see the kids now with Man City, Arsenal tops.

‘In Ireland we were strong, that was a Celtic stronghold but we have lost that to the EPL.

‘It’s coming here and I don’t know if you see the billboard advertising by broadcasters now? It’s La Liga and the EPL way ahead of the SPFL.

‘So they are coming and, logically, that will happen more and more unless we do something about it.

‘You either get on the bus or stay at the bus stop as others get on and leave you behind.’

‘It’s not just Rangers and Celtic, it’s the game as a whole. There are huge challenges there and my frustration is that we have done better trying to maintain a standard in a difficult environment and yet we are getting slaughtered for it.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2738169/Celtic-chief-executive-Peter-Lawwell-There-no-pile-cash-money-invest-right-players.html#ixzz3BpOikM5i
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lennox11
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I think Lawwell is the easy target in all of this. I'm not the biggest fan of all the decisions that have been made over the past few seasons but I feel that regardless of what lawwell said yesterday, people would (rightly or wrongly) find fault with it.

We all look for scapegoats after defeats. The majority of folk are (in my opinion) rightly not rounding on the manager yet. So that frustration needs to be levelled at someone. Due to the anarchic nature of a sizable number of football fans, it's a logical process to turn on the guy who controls the purse strings and who himself gets a more than modest living from the club.

I don't know what the guy does, day in day out, but if we want to be a successful club on and off the pitch you need someone with a bit of business acumen and he seems to have that.

I have noticed a number of really emotive and impassioned posts here particularly since Tuesday. For those who lived through the 90s, there is a tacit understanding that although it's not fabulous at the minute, it's been worse. It may improve this season, and indeed before Tuesday I think there were many of us who could see green shoots of progress.

Maybe the perceived lack of funding that drove Lenny and Johan away was because the board were unhappy with the waste of money on players such as balde, big derk, pukki, murphy, and murphy. It's funny how for some celtic fans these problems are not lenny's for picking them, but that it was lawwell's for limiting him to certain amounts of cash.

I think, personally, he spoke as much truth about the financial state of the club as you'd comfortably want to be known by everyone.

Don't want to be seen to be the token fan who is seen to be taken in by the club's 'propaganda'. I just think we could all benefit from a little perspective. Lawwell is turning into a pantomime villain; an opinion which is peddled by some rather unhelpful ex celts in the media. It's fine to criticise, but I feel that the unrelenting criticism is a bit much.
Edited by lennox11, 30 Aug 2014, 01:16 AM.
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Zurawski 7
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lennox11
30 Aug 2014, 01:14 AM

We all look for scapegoats after defeats. The majority of folk are (in my opinion) rightly not rounding on the manager yet. So that frustration needs to be levelled at someone. Due to the anarchic nature of a sizable number of football fans, it's a logical process to turn on the guy who controls the purse strings and who himself gets a more than modest living from the club.

Maybe the perceived lack of funding that drove Lenny and Johan away was because the board were unhappy with the waste of money on players such as balde, big derk, pukki, murphy, and murphy. It's funny how for some celtic fans these problems are not lenny's for picking them, but that it was lawwell's for limiting him to certain amounts of cash.
its not scapegoating in the slightest. that insinuates the benefit of hindsight when in actual fact all summer long the vast majority of people knew we would struggle to qualify without improving our strikeforce.

lawwell would have a damn cheek slating lennons signings also when he continually missed out on his top targets not to mention the fact that lennon doing wonders in devoloping his signings led to us operating on a profit in the transfer market for the last 4 years. what other celtic manager has ever operated on a minus net spend? celtic would be in a pretty sorry state right but for lennons dealings in the transfer market and money brought in through european participation
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Broadsword
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From my reading, Lawwell was happy enough to quote figures for Martin O'Neill, Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray. I find it curious that he was not so forthcoming with regards to the current manager in this respect. He is either unable or unwilling to back him; certainly as far as CL qualification is concerned.

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garyg71
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It doesn't matter if Lawell goes or stays,if we get another CE in,it will still be the same.
I have no idea where the supporters think the money is coming from!
We now have 36,000 season ticket holders,and how many of them are kids tickets?
We had well over 50,000 at one point and still struggled to bring in top players.
We can only attract players if we pay them the going rate.
That is very difficult in our league.

Impossible job(although I would love the bonus)
We all want to be a champions league team,but how can you attract players with a promise of 6 big games a season,maybe 2more.
We are in a shampoo league,that's the problem.

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lennox11
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Zurawski 7
30 Aug 2014, 01:22 AM
lennox11
30 Aug 2014, 01:14 AM

We all look for scapegoats after defeats. The majority of folk are (in my opinion) rightly not rounding on the manager yet. So that frustration needs to be levelled at someone. Due to the anarchic nature of a sizable number of football fans, it's a logical process to turn on the guy who controls the purse strings and who himself gets a more than modest living from the club.

Maybe the perceived lack of funding that drove Lenny and Johan away was because the board were unhappy with the waste of money on players such as balde, big derk, pukki, murphy, and murphy. It's funny how for some celtic fans these problems are not lenny's for picking them, but that it was lawwell's for limiting him to certain amounts of cash.
its not scapegoating in the slightest. that insinuates the benefit of hindsight when in actual fact all summer long the vast majority of people knew we would struggle to qualify without improving our strikeforce.

lawwell would have a damn cheek slating lennons signings also when he continually missed out on his top targets not to mention the fact that lennon doing wonders in devoloping his signings led to us operating on a profit in the transfer market for the last 4 years. what other celtic manager has ever operated on a minus net spend? celtic would be in a pretty sorry state right but for lennons dealings in the transfer market and money brought in through european participation
I wasn't starting a black and white discussion on the merits of lenny's signings. Neil Lennon did fabulous things for our club, but he is not without fault with regards to transfer policy over the past season and a half. The grey areas to me in all of this are that we don't know for sure that lawwell 'failed' to bring in players neil identified. If there was a failure to bring them in, perhaps it's due to the league we are playing in, and the lack of tv money to broker some top level players contracts.

I just think a number of celtic fans choose the easy option and criticise lawwell at every turn, whether it's deserved or not.

With reegards to signings, I'm like everyone and would have loved to have had he business done earlier on. But for whatever reason (whether it was due to World Cup, celtic's lack of appeal to a certain calibre of player, or simply celtic dragging their heels) it hasn't happened.

Perhaps celtic lucked out in the previous two seasons and that has masked the deficincies of our model. We didn't really strengthen until after qualification for the past two years, maybe we thought the same would work again this season? But who knows really? Like the majority of celtic fans I am merely speculating.

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Dewey
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Personal abuse? Lawwell GTF is strictly business, yo. Nothing personal. Some of his "customers" want him--the over-compensated, patronising, squad-decimating Director of football business Dermot winking--to go. Don't trust him. Don't like him. For all the reasons this thread has so tidily summed up.

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Edited by Dewey, 30 Aug 2014, 01:38 AM.
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Dewey
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To sum up Lawwell's interview:

Regarding disgruntled supporters: they either don't understand the facts, or don't care about facts. Dumb or deluded.
Regarding the board: he enjoys working for the board.
Regarding Dermot Desmond: that's where his loyalty lies.

Thanks for saying that so neatly and transparently, Pedro.
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garyg71
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I would love to know where all this Money is coming from?"
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Mubo Loravcik
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A genuinely laughable interview with Lawwell there, the same old cliches and of course he uses the Ross McCormack deal as part of his 'reasoning' :lmao: .

Here's a question for you Peter: Why did the board feel it was in the best interest of Celtic Football Club, and its new manager Ronny Deila, to spend exactly zero pounds on transfer fees ahead of the crucially important Champions League play off round against NK Maribor?
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