Well, that was a bit of a day, right?
First we had the SFA being put under pressure by a national newspaper and then the Dark Lord of Mordor, who demanded an inquiry into a twelve-year-old magazine interview, and then followed it up by announcing that away fans, but most importantly ours, would have their allocations to the Vomitorium cut to a mere 800 … Then we had Celtic’s sharp response, issued within the hour and without even mentioning their name.
Class in response to their sheer classlessness.
And so many other stories got missed as a result. But no fear, two of them were never going to be simply by-passed because they offer the real picture of what’s going on at the two clubs. They offer a proper glimpse of the next football season.
First was the collapse, as specular and humiliating as we all thought it would be, of the Martin Skrtel transfer story. It turns out that Sevco offered the guy and his agent a mere one third of his current salary, and told him it was about all they could afford.
For those unfamiliar with the hard numbers, that equates to about £20,000 a week. And with that statement, made in the early stage of negotiations, all the rest of the nonsense about them spending tens of millions and giving Gerrard a war-chest should be at an end.
Nobody of the kind of profile the media is suggesting is coming to Ibrox for that kind of money. Even with Pepe Guardiola in charge, it is completely unrealistic. That some outlets are now talking about them taking half of the Liverpool youth team on loan – and how scary a prospect does that sound? – should be enough to convince even their stupidest fan.
No club that confidently thinks it can fund a serious title challenge would behave as they are doing today, peripheral to such an embarrassment. Putting pressure on the SFA CEO who’s just in the door so that he doesn’t properly do his job? Cutting the away allocations for every club in the country, to give them 1% more advantage at home?
Would you need to engage in such petty behaviour if you were actually confident of putting your wider plans in place? And through all of it, there’s zero movement on compliance with the Takeover Panel. The “planned share issue” for next month has not been followed up with a prospectus or any of the kind of details that will satisfy regulators.
I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if it didn’t happen, which will lead to another famous, rambling statement claiming that the Unseen Hand has been up in their business again.
Directors have walked away publicly, and at least one other in private. Gerrard inherits a squad filled to the brim with dreck and nobody wants to buy any of them. Those inside the walls who have a fraction of sense should be thanking God Skrtel wasn’t game, because the wage bill is already high enough and edging into critical territory. As all this goes on, UEFA is sniffing around their license, and anyone who thinks that’s a minor matter missed that they had a major meeting today to firm up FFP regulations and to close some of the loopholes.
And as all this is going on over in La La Land, as they try to spin their way through a close season which already looks like a desperate shambles, Celtic goes about its business quietly, confidently, professionally. £5 million is being spend on upgrades to the stadium and the surrounding area. A report last night said we’ve put the hotel plans out to tender.
On top of it all, the team building is getting underway in earnest.
First off, we are closing in on a deal to sign Odsonne Edouard on a permanent transfer. The fee is said to be around the £5 million mark. It’s a significant piece of business, but one that our club, in the good place it currently is, can well afford.
As Sevco struggles to scrape together the money to fulfil whatever ridiculous promises they’ve made to their rookie manager, we are splashing the cash on and off the field, in a show of strength and ambition that gives us the infrastructure of a European level club for when the next series of changes come to the game. Because we want to be part of them.
Everything we do is geared towards that goal, that and further supremacy here at home. The double treble has been secured. We’re now looking for the next accomplishment, the treble treble and eight in a row. That will put us very close to the magic number.
Edouard is just one element in Brendan’s plan for next season. Over the next few weeks we’re going to see them unfold in full. It should be quite something, especially with the promise of another £40 million or thereabouts should we, again, make the Champions League Groups. It will be a tougher task, but not out with our capabilities, and everyone at Parkhead wants to be ready.
Their fans will spend their time indulging in laughable fantasies. Ours will have something tangible to judge progress by. Their fans will eventually have to worry about how their club can keep on the lights. Ours is spending a seven figure sum buying shiny new ones.
And that’s what the real story of the day is.