Back to the grind
I’ve several feelings going into tonight’s clash,,
An anger at the transfer window shambles,
A desire to be entertained putting footballing action above boardroom discussions,
A wish for one or two of our stars to grab the occasion and sparkle.
It’s natural to look at games in blocks, this mini block offers two home ties against much lower opposition, almost as if the footballing God’s conjured up easy tests before the hardest of all come game 3. It’s good timing for Jota and Schlupp,,,the later needs two impressive performances to start the next, the former needs to get back perfecting playing on the left wing for two games before the glamour tie of Bayern.
It’s good timing for Brendan who can now focus solely on the football, he surely must think about resting Callum in one of these next two.
I like to imagine Adam will enjoy a couple of lesser matches to try and boost his tally and confidence.
The board will be seeking a Jota pose, Engels stormer, or Reo to wave the magic wand, in order to get the support looking ahead and not scrutinizing the past.
It’s almost inevitable the next 180 minutes shall bear witness to it, his trademarked Statue of Posery was the source of worldwide eruption elsewhere,,it’s unveiling at home shall bring the proverbial roof down and bring many a tear. The Unrepentant Fist is now an instant classic in the lexicon of immortal Celtic images. I do worry a little about the burden to be placed on those Portuguese shoulders come game3, in reality our German winger should really be out to show his countrymen their talent is farflung and not just residing in the Bundesliga.
As for Reo, given him 60 tonight and ten on Saturday, keep him fresh and ready for his last great defining European battle at Parkhead.
Tony the Tiger started on Sunday, he can start against Raith Rovers too please, for I want AJ at his op-TIM-um come next Wednesday, so play tonight then rest at the weekend?
Could I envision a left flank of Schlupp/Jota versus Bayern? I would say Schlupp is two good performances away from stopping Brendan falling back on Greg,,but he hasn’t been playing which suggests being slowly introduced. There’s exceptions, he might be in excellent condition raring to go, and being of Ghanaian genes that wouldn’t surprise me.
If Greg starts tonight I think he starts in the knockouts.
If Jeffrey starts he shouldn’t aim for just a safe debut but rather an eye catching one.
The biggest window is not the transfer window, rather the window of opportunity playing for Celtic provides,,whether that’s for pride, adulation, or for our entertainment .
The signing window has closed, the others shall remain eternally open.
By Mahe
sentinelcelts@gmail.com
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Morning all,
Think Jota and Schlupp will get 30-45 minutes tonight then a start on Saturday. Bernardo is surely due a start tonight and Saturday as I think McGregor will be given the weekend off. Tonight I’d go with Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor, McGregor, Bernardo, Hatate, Kuhn, Idah, Maeda.
I agree maccargo- Strongest side available tonight, with changes made as soon as practicable.
Rest most v RR.
Kühn was inspired back in November and managed to showcase his talent against currently 4th placed in the Bundesliga Leipzig.
A similar performance v BM should not be beyond him.
In your penultimate paragraph Mahe I’d add strive to continually improve, maintain a winner’s mentality and achieve the goals targeted at the start of the season.
Just read from the same source that provided revenue information on CL to date that the same calculations have been done for the EL.
According to Swiss Ramble, the Huns or Rangers as they are referred to have made €17.3m. That for finishing top 8.
A far cry from our €45m.
(Matchday income excluded, which I assume is also in our favour.)
There really is only one game in town, to suggest otherwise is nonsensical.
Any serious club would be giving itself every advantage to annually target such riches.
Would seem a €25-30m buffer is what our suits are hoarding cash for.
“Would seem a €25-30m buffer is what our suits are hoarding cash for.”
Or looked at another way – an opportunity cost not invested in the team to make July August qualification a heck of a lot easier.
Would like to see more of Bernardo. To me he is potentially one of our best.
Celtic are apparently committed to operating under the Corporate Governance code ( 2018). They’ve made a statement to that effect. Indeed all AIM listed companies are required to adhere to such a code.
There are 10 principles within that code. I’m sure most of you will be aware of them so I won’t bore you by listing them all though they make for interesting reading and Celtic’s compliance could be questioned on many of them.
The one that I find interest me most is :
“EVALUATE BOARD PERFORMANCE BASED ON CLEAR AND RELEVANT OBJECTIVES, SEEKING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT”
Who exactly is evaluating board performance and what are the clear and relevant objectives?
If it’s to win domestic trophies then they’re delivering in spades, however, the continuous improvement they mention could only be considered as being on track ( in my opinion) if it refers to staying ahead of TRFC. Yes there has been a bit of improvement in Europe this season down to the new format and a favourable draw, but ‘continuous’? I’d suggest not.
Do the board evaluate themselves? What are those clear objectives?
If they have been published, and, state that the main goals are to win trophies domestically whilst stockpiling cash, then they are performing admirably and I apologise for doubting their exceptional achievement.
Hope you are all well. HH 🍀
Good morning, friends and a Big Happy Matchday to all who post or lurk on this fine site.
Tonight’s game is important as we have the carrot of being 13 points clear with 13 to play. And can start to work out just how early we might clinch the title.
Saturdays game is important as we are only 4 wins away from yet another treble. And cup final Saturday is always a day we should want to be involved in.
Next Wednesday’s game is important as it might be our final chance this season for a truly memorable European night under the lights. Take a narrow lead to Munich and you just never know.
So, personally, I think we start with a strong XI in all 3 games with the hope that we score a few and enable substitutions for the last half hour. I include Sinisalo in that hope.
J B
9 wins, incl March 16th, gives us the required number of points to “ pip” the Huns by a point. We may need less if the Huns drop points elsewhere.
Alternatively we can lose both games v them and still win the league by 7 points, all things being equal.
Eye on the ball time. However I disagree with playing our more valuable/ irreplaceable assets v RR.
AJ, CCV, Calmac, Idah should all be rested.
Playing lesser but enthusiastic opponents who are used to a more industrial style can be harmful to our wellbeing.
So we didn’t get the up to date winger reference in yesterday’s presser, and got pretty much of what we expected about our transfer failings. One thing that was noticeable was the praise handed out to Johnny Kenny. It seems that an opportunity has arisen, he’s still at the club, and it would be good to see him take his chance….maybe even get a start on Saturday. As one door closes….?
Enjoy your day folks an here’s looking forward to a good performance and a handsome win tonight.
Twisty
” continuous improvement” is never guaranteed as “events” have a habit of intervening and derailing plans.
Self inflicted ones are sometimes difficult to prove.
“Seeking” implies a suggestion that this should be the case, not an absolute target.
Isn’t there an in-house remuneration committee to evaluate and reward board performance?
Morning all,
I agree with Jobo. Start our strongest team next 2 games and hopefully make very early substitutions.
The Bayern game takes care of itself.
Ps
All things going to plan, we could wrap up title on St Paddy’s Weekend.
” Ahhh that’s nice “ MrsBrownsBhoysCSC 🍀🍀🍀
or
” Splendid “ JRHartleyCSC 🍀🍀🍀🍀
Anyway COYBIG 💚💚💚💚
Twists- nice seeing you back on,hope you’re well
Just sayin’,
Been enjoying your post of late, buddy. 👍
Big 3 pts tonight, as there is a big difference between 10 and 13 pts.
I think it’s around 3 pts 😁
I’m with the others who think we should start with as strong a line-up as injuries and suspensions allow.
I’d also be trying to integrate Jota and give Maeda a bit of time in the centre, considering we may be relying on him there before the season is out.
4-0 the Tic.
There is no way that we should need to start CCV , AJ, Calum , Kuhn etc against Raith on Saturday.
That’s what the squad is for.
Tonight and next Wednesday are the important games, although the CEO, doesn’t seem to agree.
Anyone heard from the invisible man ?
Just saying
There is a lot of cash and Celtic announced at last AGM that an amount had been set aside to cover the shortfall between CL and EL income in the event of failing to qualify.
That prevents having to sell a player we don’t want to lose to balance the books.
It’s rainy day money and is a sensible move as it reduces the risk of spending on CL money using the rest of what is available.
Of course past experience suggests that will not happen but given your general point that the CL is where the money is it would be stupid not to spend to improve squad quality given steps taken to minimise the risk.
That sum is a one off cut not an annual take out. It should feature as a separate item in annual accounts.
St tams,
I think James Forrest is still injured !!!!! 😂
😂 ( “Copyright another moniker” )
Ahhh,
You mean “ The Invisible Michael “
Hope your well 👍
Ps
Nice to see you posting Twisty and remember, any tips are always appreciated 🐴🐴
https://x.com/highland__paddy/status/1886668664927076652?s=48&t=VGQ-dz7XnGoK0iCf5HYDYA
The great Bobby Lennox
Just Sayin’
February 5, 2025 8:26 am
“Would seem a €25-30m buffer is what our suits are hoarding cash for.”
Or looked at another way – an opportunity cost not invested in the team to make July August qualification a heck of a lot easier.
====
Nope. Setting a reserve actually allows spend on improving squad quality without waiting to see if Celtic qualify for CL.
Another way to look at the Jan window is that rather than spend money on players not needed for domestic success the profit from the window can be added to the opportunity to buy in a better market for players really needed.
I’m only setting out facts although in this case I think having a contingency reserve is a very smart move.
Auldheid
These figures supplied give us a pretty accurate reflection of the financial gap- albeit the €28m difference reflects the Huns success in reaching the EL last 16 and us the CL play off round.
I terms of Balancing the books, is this in pursuit of maintaining a huge cash surplus or simply not going into the red?
These are two fundamentally different propositions.
A contingency reserve approaching £100m
That is some rainy day. What is the exceptional risk with catastrophic consequences we are anticipating?
We are a football business, operating within a fairly precise economic model,
not some globally sensitive enterprise subject to Geo political pressures.
When does the cash surplus become “beyond” contingency? £120m, more?
I’d say we are already way beyond
The opportunity cost is not investing in the team.
B A D 10.52am
Cheers. Just trying to provide some food for thought. And Auldheid debate😀
Bada I’m well tyvm. Hoping all good with you too buddy
Just sayin
There may well be an in-house remuneration committee reviewing performance. If that’s so, and they’re happy, then can we assume it’s primarily financial remuneration they assess performance on? I’m sure the major shareholders will be happy, a small % of stakeholders who may or may not be shareholders may also be happy, but I’d suggest the larger % of the support on the whole expect greater improvement than is being delivered. Certainly the majority of the fans I’m in contact with are most definitely unhappy.
The unhealthy distribution of shares dictates nothing will change.
Twisty
From the club website.
REMUNERATION COMMITTEE
The Remuneration Committee is chaired by Tom Allison. The other members are Brian Wilson and Peter Lawwell.
The Remuneration Committee determines the terms of engagement and remuneration of the Company’s executive Directors, Company Secretary and certain senior executives, on behalf of the Board.
The Committee also monitors the Company’s executive share option scheme and implementation of other executive and employee incentive schemes.
A detailed report is included within the Annual Report.
RENUMERATION COMMITTEE TERMS OF REFERENCE >
MAHE
FWIW,I think we will see Maeda and Idah start,and be replaced on the hour mark by Jota and Kenny. These two need game time for Wednesday. I also think Jota will start at the weekend.
A wee rest for AJ tonight,and one for CCV on Saturday. Maybe Schlupp on for twenty tonight and a weekend start to follow. As for the midfield,CalMac with Hatate and Engels. All three,though maybe Bernardo against Raith.
Just my thoughts. We can’t take Dundee lightly,not after our last effort against them.
Morning Twisty…good to see an early morning post from you. I hope you’re well and things are good for you!
Twisty, Just Sayin’ et al…
from the Renumeration Committee T&Cs – “Section 2 Subsection 2.6 None of the members of the Committee shall have any personal financial interest in the matters considered by the Committee other than in their capacity as shareholders of the Company.”
Now, haud oan, am I reading this right, Committee members should have no personal financial interest in this? All of the Committee members are on the Board, they all have a financial interest! Or am I ignorant ( probably, mate!) to some of the details here?
TWISTY
Good to have you back,would be nice if you were a regular again. Hope all is well at your end.
I think the remuneration committee is made up of time-served NEDs,who have a habit of rewarding their pals who put them there.
Despite creditable draws with us and R2ngers Dundee have won only 3 of their last 10 games and lost 6-0 to Hearts at the weekend. Tony Doc has them playing well but is lacking consistency. I expect at Parkheid we’ll turn them over. I’m going 3-0, a wee bit more conservative than I’d normally go for a home game against 10th in the League!
The original Black Sabbath to reunite for a one-off charity gig.
Titled Back to the Beginning, the charity gig will be held at Villa Park on 5 July, with tickets on sale from 10am on 14 February. The supporting lineup is a Who’s Who of metal greats, including Metallica, Slayer, Pantera and many more.
A rainy day buffer of one hundred million quid ! That’s not a rainy day, that’s a monsoon that lasts a month.
If turnover is vanity and cash is sanity, then Celtic will most certainly not be heading to the State Hospital at Carstairs anytime soon.
Celtic PLC is paralyzed by fear, when there is absolutely no need to be. It’s been thirty years since the last major investment in the stadium, why is that ? We have not won a post-Christmas knock out European tie in over twenty years. And we are not winning the next one, but no shame in that. The board are the masters of expectation management. Dominate in Scotland but Europe is for kerching purposes only.
The Remuneration Committee. Just another name for a group of entitled men to mark their own homework. Celtic’s very own House of Lords. Pretty much a job for life. Twenty thousand small shareholders could vote to remove Brian Wilson and Tom Allison as a PLC NED’s (I do at every opportunity), but it makes no difference. The Desmond block vote will always win the day.
The club now has no resemblance whatsoever to the ethos of the founding members. And, with every passing year it looks like the boys club abuse victims will never get the justice they deserve.
A Club Like Not Other ? Fuck off. Charlatans.
Thankfully there is a game to focus upon tonight.
Always will have far more interest upon what goes on within the field of play, than the events off it.
Of course they can be linked, but better for myself anyway, to support events on the field, than staying in anger of events off it, especially when nothing seems in the offering of changing them either imo?
Anyway, disappointed that the window wasn’t as successful as anticipated, but also not as bad as it potentially could have been either.
Rodgers will still have 17 key players when Jota, Schulpp and Forrest are back up to full speed with ourselves.
That’s without calling upon the likes of ralston, Murray, Kenny.
Think Schulpp will be a very shrew signing that could be one, we are looking to offer a contract to come the summer imo?
So although I originally thought the planning for the future, could have been addressed far better, it maybe isn’t as bad upon first looking either imo?
Wow! just Wow! I have not listened to yesterday’s Graham Speirs’ podcast, but intend to later today. James Forrest did listen to it and alludes to it in his blog.
Briefly, Speirs stated that several Celtic Board members, within earshot of the press, bitched about Brendan leaving £30M of talent ( presumably Engels, Idah, Trusty ) on the bench for a recent game. There is no reason to doubt Speirs and it confirms for me the unbelievable arrogance of Board members who think they know football better than Brendan. I had hoped that Brendan would sign an extension, but having read the James Forrest article, I can’t see it happening. A real downer.
https://thecelticblog.com/2025/02/articles-and-features/the-latest-spiers-podcast-offers-a-possible-shocking-motive-for-celtics-awful-january-window/
Twisty,
I was just thinking about you the other day and, “Hey Presto!” you appear.
Others who dig deeper than I, may have discovered statements of Celtic’s objectives. Basically, organisations have a number of different types of objectives, not just financial. These objectives indicate how the organisation, Celtic, in this case, relate to its various stakeholders. Stakeholders include community, regulatory bodies, and non consumers of our product.
If anyone thinks these objectives are unimportant, remember the sad case of Abada. Non football/financial issues drove him out of the club. For some supporters, Palestine, however defined, is an important issue. Consequently, does the club have a stance on this?
The broader the range of corporate objectives, the clearer the organisation understands its position in its operating environment.
I would love to see a comprehensive list of Celtic’s objectives as a starting point for evaluating what kind of organisation that I am supporting.
Rebus
McCaff
February 5, 2025 12:10 pm
I read that section recently and sniffed too.
I believe many of the problems supporters get vexed about are due to structural issues as much as if not more than incompetence.
Although it’s a few years since I was able to observe how Celtic worked internally what I recall was the lack of systemic back up.
For example the SLO job is analogous to a Help Desk. The SLO did not have relevant software to do the job so I costed some and provided detail.
That was in days where the only system to make things happen sat in a chair as CEO.
I also trod a path Rebus tried suggesting in my case a system for tracking projects from strategy compliance to completion based on one used by global development agencies.
A family bereavement to a trained system user prevented it going further.
My point is Celtic could do with an audit of its business practices, are they fit for end purpose, if so are staff properly trained to carry them out?
Are there critical issues like marking their own homework that skew the processes etc.
Get the system and structures right, get appropriate trained or experienced staff to implement them and I think cause for complaints would significantly reduce with more transparent fit for purpose systems in place.
Been reported that Al-Hilal paid a transfer fee in the region of €100m to get Neymar from PSG.
His 2 year contract was supposedly worth €300m in wages.
He’s now left after playing 3 league games and contributing zero goals or assists!
They have made the beautiful game something extremely ugly.
I said the other day we were nearing the time some will start suggesting Brendan will get pissed off and go again.
Didn’t have to wait long.
Most in Scotland would absolutely love him to leave us.
I now want him to sign a 10 year deal.
Big Audio Dynamite
February 5, 2025 2:20 pm
I said the other day we were nearing the time some will start suggesting Brendan will get pissed off and go again.
Didn’t have to wait long.
Most in Scotland would absolutely love him to leave us.
I now want him to sign a 10 year deal.
———————————
Hi BAD
Same here. And if our Board had any sense, they would have Lord Lucan putting a new contract in front of Brendan right now.
As Joan Baez said, “You don’t know what you have got, until you lose it,” ( or something like that🤔 ).
I think he’s too ambitious for them. Their aims don’t match up. Lawwell Jr’s ouster still festers, and it is not going to change until Senior is gone. I just hope Brendan has the Great Desmondo’s backing. I can never figure out the latter’s motivation, as he permits inept buffoons in the Boardroom that I’m sure he would not employ in his own companies.
HH
Iniquitous IV😊
IQ4,
Joan Baez? Was it not our own Joni Mitchell in Big Yellow Taxi who said:
”Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot”
Mitchell trumps your Baez. 😀
Rebus
BAD
MAHE and I set the site up in August 2018 in response to the John McGinn fiasco. We knew who was to blame,and that it wouldn’t end well.
I reckon BR might just decide to play this out. Agree to sign an extension IF the next window is acceptable to him. And then put getting rid of Lawwell next on his hitlist.
Why not? He’s a hero if he gets the treble and signs a new deal. Get rid of Lawwell and I’ll build him a statue myself!
Auldheid
In two posts this morning you took me to task on my interpretation of what constitutes a suitable contingency reserve for a modest revenue returning business in a third tier European league.
My reply at 11.43am asked a few questions.
I see you have been on since in relation to the remuneration issue.
You are quick to pen your opinions when you disagree with others. In a tone that sometimes comes across as quite censorious.
My point being do you avoid uncomfortable questions and ignore same when they do not align with your narrative?
IQ4,
Since the minute the man entered the building again our enemies have been dying for an opportunity to start suggesting Brendan is unhappy.
Surely everyone knew it was only when, not if, it all started again.
Look at how our January window is being reported compared to Sevco’s.
Celtic – Everyone raging and manager on the verge of throwing in the towel.
Sevco- Turned down multi-million pound bids for various players and didn’t buy because – Get this!- They didn’t feel there were any players available who could have improved them 😂
Wish I could remember which top class publication i read that in. I forgot to take note as I was falling from my chair in hysterics at the time 👍
Just all so predictable it’s boring.
BAD, Bobby et al…if there is any substance to the rumours stated on the James Forrest podcast, and my note of caution would be Ewan Murray is an unlikely source of conscience or virtue when it comes to Celtic matters, then either the unnamed director(s) position is potentially untenable or Brendan’s position is untenable!
Our PLC are old rich white men. They are so out of touch that their views really don’t matter.
BR runs the show and they know it. Of course, leaving £30m of newly signed talent on the bench is not a good look, and many on here have criticized BR for doing so. However, circumstances with regards player confidence ( lack of) and game management need to be considered in his reasoning.
That said, we needed to bolster the squad and didn’t really address all the required areas. Nonetheless, I’m certain if BR is unhappy about it, he’ll soon let us now in his own inimitable way.
Bobby,
If he does sign an extension (Hopefully a long-term one) once I stop skipping along the street I’ll revel in the pain it I’ll cause some.
I actually think he will 👍
Just Sayin
Thx for that.
McCaff, Rebus, Bobby. Hi, hope you’re all well.
Bobby, I still drop in frequently for a read and to check if the same troublemakers are keeping you up to your work.😁
Seriously, still enjoy most of the debate. Yer sis probably more than anyone else represents my view on all things Celtic so good to see she’s still pitching away. ATOB , hoping all is good with you and yours.
On Celtic, and in particular BR, I sense much frustration in those recent interviews. He’s trying to mask that frustration but I fear he’s not at all happy.
Hoping we can get the 3 points tonight and restore the 13point gap, and avoid serious injury.
Be a late one for me tonight, midnight ko time. ( in Dubai)
SAN LUIS
I think it’s worth pointing out that while “leaving £30m of newly signed talent on the bench is not a good look”,we also fielded over £100m on the pitch.
WTF does that board expect? That we play every player that we paid money for in every game? It’s eleven a side,not twenty!
TWISTY
Worth remembering that I taught ATHINGOFBEAUTY everything I know. I just wish I knew where she got all the other stuff from!
Happy Birthday bigpacky
We are still in Chester. Lovely pint of Cheshire Cat in The Harkers.
Hope we Joan is well and you’ve enjoyed several pints of lager in The Queen of Hearts.
Hail Hail