So what if Celtic don’t qualify for the Champions League? The board wouldn’t invest the £40 million in the team anyway
Eric Knott 
(Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Last Wednesday night, I walked away from the Champions League tie against Kairat Almaty dejected, worn out, and sick of the malaise our club has walked itself into.
All thanks to the Celtic board, and nobody else.
I’ve given up trying to wrap my head around what the hell is going on inside the walls of Celtic Park.
Its a pointless endeavour, and one which will only result in me tying my brain up in knots.
And before you say it, I know my name is Knott, I should be able to handle it!
But seriously, I was thinking about it the day after the game, and it suddenly dawned on me.
What the hell do we need to qualify for the Champions league for?
First and foremost, we do not have a squad that is remotely capable of competing in that competition right now.
Secondly, that £40 million in finance we could earn from it?
Useless.
No good to us whatsoever.
No good to the manager.
And certainly no good to the team.
That money would only be good for sitting in a bank account, and paying corporation tax.
Just like all the other tens of millions of pounds that endure a lonely, useless existence in the club’s bank account.
That rainy day fund the board always keeps talking about?
A veritable tsunami could hit our club, and somehow, that money would still remain in the club coffers.
In fact, you could say that that very tsunami is building right now, and the board are doing sweet fanny Adams about it.
You see, our Champions League participation, in the eyes of our board, is no longer about the football.
Its about the participation, and the finance that comes with that participation.
Nothing else.
The football is secondary.
An irrelevance.
Which was proven unequivocally by our behaviour in last Janaury’s transfer window with the sale of Kyogo Furuhashi.
Here’s the thing.
Not only were the board not satisfied with the £40 million in finance secured from participation in the Champions League last season, they then decided that we desperately needed another £10 million in finance on top of that.
And you know what the irony is in all of that?
If they’d held onto Kyogo Furuhashi, even until the end of the season, the following might have happened:
We might have beaten or drawn against Aston Villa, thus giving us an easier draw for the last 32 of the Champions League.
In which case, we might have made it to the last 16, thus securing the £11 million in prize money on offer for that, along with the matchday revenue that went with it.
We could have won the Scottish Cup, and then in turn, the treble.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s goals could just have been the difference when it came to all of the above.
And the clincher here, they probably still would have landed £10 million for him after a season as successful as that.
A board with a basic semblance of long-term strategic planning could have worked that out.
But no, not ours.
They needed that £10 million desperately.
So badly, that it blinded them when it came to what they could actually have earned if they’d thought the whole thing through strategically.
But strategic planning is an alien concept to the people who run our club.
Stockpiling cash is the only concept they seem to grasp.
So yeah, I actually don’t care if we make the Champions League or not anymore.
I won’t be gutted if we don’t.
The finance is as good as having the winning numbers for the Euromillions, but forgetting to do it on the night they came up.
You won’t have the money, and neither will the footballing operation at Celtic if they get past Kairat Almaty on Tuesday night.
Because it is blatantly obvious our board puts the footballing operation last at Celtic Park.
I won’t even get into where we the fans fit into things.
That’s a story for another day.
I absolutely see that point of view Eric.
We are going nowhere because of the Board, but the biggest culprit is Dermot Desmond.
He is the biggest shareholder, but it is not a majority shareholding and yet he behaves as if he owns the club.
They’re not Celtic fans, the money would not go to improve the team lot the stadium.
Exactly,my wife asked me today about being linked etc with some player,I said,”I couldn’t tell you,I’ve lost interest,”
That’s the truth,deflated and uninterested
Excellent article. I have been saying for ages that financially there is no difference between us and the Rangers – they have no money to spend and don’t either. As you quite rightly say Eric, it’s just sitting, wasting away in a bank.
I still care if we qualify or not. We should be cruising past Kairat regardless of signings. Get Maeda through the middle from the start, play on the shoulder and counter. They won’t sit back and block at home, will be an open game. Qualification doesn’t let the club off the hook though, the cash needs spent to strengthen. Qualifying for the premium European competition, with TV still showing empty seats on Parkhead nights, sends as strong a message as disgruntled fans possibly could. Tough call, I know, but if some feel strongly enough about the lack of investment, there’s a great opportunity to at least try and embarrass the hierarchy. It comes at a cost to supporting the squad obviously. Seeing the Maestro in the stands the other night made me think of the dross he had to suffer whilst Captaining the club. He did it with dignity, when he could have walked away and won trophies elsewhere. Some people love Celtic too much to walk out on them, regardless of the politics. I will always respect that.
The Ibrox loving criminal, Peter Lawwell, should be booted out of Celtic Park. His previously failed policy of waiting to see if we qualify for the CL group stages before spending any money, is incompetent at best. Here’s a novel approach. Spend some fkn money on improving the team as soon as the transfer window opens, thereby all but assuring CL group qualification. This clown has cost Celtic untold CL revenue over the years…while coining it in for himself.
Hail Hail.
The board are obsessed with money, the media are obsessed with money, a lot of our fans, who can’t talk about certain players without discussing what they cost, are obsessed with money. Nobody wants the club to be skint but sitting on a pile of cash is pointless unless there is significant stadium development plans.
Qualifying is important for how we are viewed and respected but I agree that the squad isn’t ready in the attacking areas, I’m quite comfortable with the keepers, defence and midfield but we need real quality additions to the front 3.
Exactly Eric,you nailed it.Regardless of tonights outcome,change must come.How much money have we actually lost with the board hamstringing the manager every single summer by waiting to see if we qualify for the CL.Im hoping the younger more diverse Celtic fan base will no longer accept this year in and year out.
What did U Joe and James say for weeks,it’s going to happen and the Board won’t spend much of it if we get through but with those performances both legs a half decent team would give us a beating