The Scottish champions are financially secure, but their latest accounts raise serious questions about recruitment, wage control, governance and the use of their resources.
I agree with everything you say Andy, including the elite bit in retrospect. I always feel a manager reflects the identity of the team and vice versa. Celtic have failed to beat Rangers in eleven games now, inside ninety minutes, that is an excoriating indictment of Ange, O'Neil, Nancy and Rodgers, not withstanding all the drubbings in Europe. A confidence and mentality issue is at the heart of the Celtic team's mindset. Maybe it is time time we brought in a reputable sports psychologist ?
Do you think If the fans vote with their feet and revenues (c£49.1m), decreases by c30%+, the £66.7m cash in the bank is not going to last long? The player trading model will recess, as we are not investing at the appropriate level. They are not going to subsidise a loss making operation, market cap declines, then another investor (American, p/e, v/c), would be interested. May take c.5 years, is it better the devil we know or we have the option to push for change. With Paul Keane and his c.6.9% and Lindell Trains (c.15%), the shareholding is getting close to c.58%, therefore negates any of the good work CSL are undertaking. Thought on the way ahead, would be appreciated?
I think it is easy, simplistic and enticing to kick the Board when things go turtle, as we are seeing with the financial loss just announced by Celtic FC, is this not the first declared financial loss in recent times ? We can also expect another hefty loss next year, due to our exit from the Champions League.
But seriously, we have had two elite Celtic managers in Rodgers and O'Neil respectively, fail to negotiate passage into the lucrative Champions League, Rodgers against the minnows Kairat, and O'Neil blowing a 4-0 lead. Surely a major share of the blame must lie directly at the feet of both those so called elite managers, for costing the club so much money, and diminishment in European circles ?.
The board are culpable in their own right. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. The hierarchy have no long term strategy in place - whether that is for the academy or the first team. They focus solely on short-term reactionary decisions. No proper scouting system with analytics backing it up - the recent loan signings from Chelsea were brought in on the world of the new scout hired at the tale end of last season - from Chelsea. No Head of Football Operations appointed since Tisdales sacking in January, yet they created and hired a customer service manager for a Head of Business Operations in less time.
They failed to bring in the players on time and to give them a proper pre-season. The new players that took to the field against LASK had little preparation with their new team mates and the style of play. It happens every year, the bulk of our signings happen just before or after the qualifiers.
The defeats to Kairat and LASK are on the players and the managers - as we had enough on paper to beat both sides. Neither manager imo are elite managers. O'Neill is just the frontman for Dermot's Maloney management and Rodgers' lack of flexbility and one-dimensional play doesnt screw elitist. But both are more than qualified and experienced enough to manage sides to beat Kairat and LASK - there is clearly a huge mentality issue within Celtic and it remains no matter the manager and the players that come and go.
Great summation of how the accounts affect the club and the drop in profitability from £34 million last season to a £4.1 loss this season and how that's caused by failing to reach the Champions League. I however was more interested in the last few paragraphs about the board and how things would work with a conventional board where shareholders could call for change over a somewhat dramatic loss like that. I feel that essentially what you're saying is we all know the structure of the club is all wrong but there's fu*k all we can do while the Desmond stranglehold over the club exists and that even if Martin or the board decide to make a management change that the same structural problems will remain and we're only kicking the can down the road and creating the exact same problems for anyone new to inherit. That to me is terrifying and I fear the club's going to fall deeper into a mire of our board's making, we all knew that the only thing that could stop Celtic is Celtic itself, we're managing that beautifully if that's the intention. If that's not their intention it's time for them to make clear what the actual vision for the club is because not one supporter knows a thing due to the contempt we're shown by this bunch of shysters and charlatans.
The player acquisitions of c.£31.6m are post 30/6 and shall be reported on the 2026/27 interim and full results. It is my understanding (correct me if I am wrong),that football transfers are generally paid on a 40/30/30% basis unless specifically negos on all cash up front (e.g. KT: c.£24.3m transfer to Arsenal). Does that not seems smoke and mirrors / political spin / gaslighting?
It highlights the decision to not back BR with an additional c.£10-£15m in the summer of 25, transfer window, sell Maeda for c.£15m - £20m (think Wolfsburg was the reported team) and Arne Engels to Notts Forrest for c.£22m - £25m (Jan 26, if reports are correct, due to not being able to get appropriate replacements in, despite knowledge that both players wished to leave the club), as gross incompetence and a strategy which is completely inappropriate for the football transfer market and a club with a >£111m turnover.
When you benchmark Celtic against similar European peers (e.g. Club Brugge, Atlanta, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lille and RB Salzburg, even Bodo Glimt), our player trading model and recruitment results are extremely poor.
Do you know where the figure of c.£42.6m in expenditure for y/e 2025 originates from? Barrowfield improvements would be amortised over the life cycle of the project or in line with the Capex guidelines from HMRC? It does not appear to have been spent on players (unless I missed that, from last year’s full accounts)?
A club like Celtic should not be bringing in 6–10 players every transfer window. Surely you need more stability and a core base of sell 2, bring in 4, maximum 6 players, as we have done this summer (5), with 5 additional loan players. That in itself outlines a complete lack of strategy and competence? How can you integrate so many players in such a short space of time?
To not prepare for the most important game of the season (CL qualifier), not qualify for 8/10 times (16-26), that is gross negligence in any other profession and would lead to an independent or NED review and appropriate restructure (possible dismissals).
That is without discussing the playing side of things, which have regressed since Jan 24, at an alarming rate. This strategy of just enough (+1 domestically), not preparing for Europe, constant downsizing, competent personnel in key positions and structure (e.g. Professional Head of Recruitment / Football operations and Head of Fitness and Conditioning, Hof Tactics and Analytics), can not continue without severe consequences. The past 2 weeks have shown that. It is as though we are an analogue club in the Digital / AI world. Honda Civic has been downsized to a Nissan Micra!!
I agree with everything you say Andy, including the elite bit in retrospect. I always feel a manager reflects the identity of the team and vice versa. Celtic have failed to beat Rangers in eleven games now, inside ninety minutes, that is an excoriating indictment of Ange, O'Neil, Nancy and Rodgers, not withstanding all the drubbings in Europe. A confidence and mentality issue is at the heart of the Celtic team's mindset. Maybe it is time time we brought in a reputable sports psychologist ?
Tommy,
Do you think If the fans vote with their feet and revenues (c£49.1m), decreases by c30%+, the £66.7m cash in the bank is not going to last long? The player trading model will recess, as we are not investing at the appropriate level. They are not going to subsidise a loss making operation, market cap declines, then another investor (American, p/e, v/c), would be interested. May take c.5 years, is it better the devil we know or we have the option to push for change. With Paul Keane and his c.6.9% and Lindell Trains (c.15%), the shareholding is getting close to c.58%, therefore negates any of the good work CSL are undertaking. Thought on the way ahead, would be appreciated?
I think it is easy, simplistic and enticing to kick the Board when things go turtle, as we are seeing with the financial loss just announced by Celtic FC, is this not the first declared financial loss in recent times ? We can also expect another hefty loss next year, due to our exit from the Champions League.
But seriously, we have had two elite Celtic managers in Rodgers and O'Neil respectively, fail to negotiate passage into the lucrative Champions League, Rodgers against the minnows Kairat, and O'Neil blowing a 4-0 lead. Surely a major share of the blame must lie directly at the feet of both those so called elite managers, for costing the club so much money, and diminishment in European circles ?.
The board are culpable in their own right. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. The hierarchy have no long term strategy in place - whether that is for the academy or the first team. They focus solely on short-term reactionary decisions. No proper scouting system with analytics backing it up - the recent loan signings from Chelsea were brought in on the world of the new scout hired at the tale end of last season - from Chelsea. No Head of Football Operations appointed since Tisdales sacking in January, yet they created and hired a customer service manager for a Head of Business Operations in less time.
They failed to bring in the players on time and to give them a proper pre-season. The new players that took to the field against LASK had little preparation with their new team mates and the style of play. It happens every year, the bulk of our signings happen just before or after the qualifiers.
The defeats to Kairat and LASK are on the players and the managers - as we had enough on paper to beat both sides. Neither manager imo are elite managers. O'Neill is just the frontman for Dermot's Maloney management and Rodgers' lack of flexbility and one-dimensional play doesnt screw elitist. But both are more than qualified and experienced enough to manage sides to beat Kairat and LASK - there is clearly a huge mentality issue within Celtic and it remains no matter the manager and the players that come and go.
Great summation of how the accounts affect the club and the drop in profitability from £34 million last season to a £4.1 loss this season and how that's caused by failing to reach the Champions League. I however was more interested in the last few paragraphs about the board and how things would work with a conventional board where shareholders could call for change over a somewhat dramatic loss like that. I feel that essentially what you're saying is we all know the structure of the club is all wrong but there's fu*k all we can do while the Desmond stranglehold over the club exists and that even if Martin or the board decide to make a management change that the same structural problems will remain and we're only kicking the can down the road and creating the exact same problems for anyone new to inherit. That to me is terrifying and I fear the club's going to fall deeper into a mire of our board's making, we all knew that the only thing that could stop Celtic is Celtic itself, we're managing that beautifully if that's the intention. If that's not their intention it's time for them to make clear what the actual vision for the club is because not one supporter knows a thing due to the contempt we're shown by this bunch of shysters and charlatans.
Hi Andy,
Great summation and article, thank you.
Some queries for myself:
The player acquisitions of c.£31.6m are post 30/6 and shall be reported on the 2026/27 interim and full results. It is my understanding (correct me if I am wrong),that football transfers are generally paid on a 40/30/30% basis unless specifically negos on all cash up front (e.g. KT: c.£24.3m transfer to Arsenal). Does that not seems smoke and mirrors / political spin / gaslighting?
It highlights the decision to not back BR with an additional c.£10-£15m in the summer of 25, transfer window, sell Maeda for c.£15m - £20m (think Wolfsburg was the reported team) and Arne Engels to Notts Forrest for c.£22m - £25m (Jan 26, if reports are correct, due to not being able to get appropriate replacements in, despite knowledge that both players wished to leave the club), as gross incompetence and a strategy which is completely inappropriate for the football transfer market and a club with a >£111m turnover.
When you benchmark Celtic against similar European peers (e.g. Club Brugge, Atlanta, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lille and RB Salzburg, even Bodo Glimt), our player trading model and recruitment results are extremely poor.
Do you know where the figure of c.£42.6m in expenditure for y/e 2025 originates from? Barrowfield improvements would be amortised over the life cycle of the project or in line with the Capex guidelines from HMRC? It does not appear to have been spent on players (unless I missed that, from last year’s full accounts)?
A club like Celtic should not be bringing in 6–10 players every transfer window. Surely you need more stability and a core base of sell 2, bring in 4, maximum 6 players, as we have done this summer (5), with 5 additional loan players. That in itself outlines a complete lack of strategy and competence? How can you integrate so many players in such a short space of time?
To not prepare for the most important game of the season (CL qualifier), not qualify for 8/10 times (16-26), that is gross negligence in any other profession and would lead to an independent or NED review and appropriate restructure (possible dismissals).
That is without discussing the playing side of things, which have regressed since Jan 24, at an alarming rate. This strategy of just enough (+1 domestically), not preparing for Europe, constant downsizing, competent personnel in key positions and structure (e.g. Professional Head of Recruitment / Football operations and Head of Fitness and Conditioning, Hof Tactics and Analytics), can not continue without severe consequences. The past 2 weeks have shown that. It is as though we are an analogue club in the Digital / AI world. Honda Civic has been downsized to a Nissan Micra!!