Later on today I’m going to cover the full nonsense that is, Dave King’s latest Ibrox statement. But for the moment, I want to focus on one thing he said that every Celtic fan should be taking note of, and thinking about, over the next few weeks and months.
He says that the takeover is not likely to be completed until the middle of June. This is profoundly amusing to all of us.
That club is giving itself an awful lot to do in a very short time, and with very little money on the table in order to do it.
It’s going to have to find a management team. It’s going to have to put a scouting department in place. And it’s going to have to go out and find footballers good enough to challenge us for the title. There’s very little chance that any of that is going to be done in a timely enough fashion to make a difference.
It will be easy for us to look at the situation over there, conclude that it’s a mess, and allow ourselves the luxury of complacency.
I sincerely hope that Celtic does not do this.
It is the danger we all fear most. It is the thing that forever haunts our steps. It is the thing that we all lie awake at night sweating about and worrying over—that the Ibrox club gets itself into a state and Celtic thinks it doesn’t have to keep pushing forward. But Celtic does have to keep on pushing forward.
We should be looking to greater and larger horizons than just what’s happening on our own doorstep. This is a mantra that has been preached by Celtic fans on just about every Celtic website there is, and we’re serious too.
We don’t believe that this club should define itself by the Glasgow rivalry. It’s about time that this club started thinking beyond that rivalry and towards the future—where we’re regular Champions League group stage participants and where we can really start punching our weight.
That challenge has been set over and over again. If we set our sights on that—if we develop our club in that direction—then we will leave everyone here behind, and there will be no question of that. Everything else will take care of itself if we set our sights high. That’s how we have to look at this summer. We’ve got to build for us, not for what might or might not be happening across the street.
The way this takeover is unfolding right now is a genuine mess. If it really is going to be mid-June before there’s any kind of resolution, then that club is already heading for a very bad place. Because there’s no way they can get done all that they need to before the European qualifiers come rolling around.
And it’s those qualifiers which will decide their quality of life—not just next season but the season after that too. Because it will impact everything, including financial sustainability regulations.
But most importantly, it will impact the kind of team they can put out on the pitch next season. It will impact how far advanced their plans for rebuilding the squad are. It’s not for nothing that people like Keith Jackson and others have already expressed their grave concerns that the club across town is not going to be ready for the next campaign.
So it’s clear that there’s an opportunity here for us to forge even further ahead. But that only happens if we make a conscious decision to do that.
This was already shaping up to be a very important summer. It was shaping up to be important because if we can retain the guts of this team—the best players in this squad—we can take that next step in Europe. Especially if the manager gets the kind of financial backing that he wants and needs. That will also decide whether or not he signs a brand new contract to stay at the club beyond the current one.
As many of us have pointed out, the European football pot of gold has never been more lucrative, nor the consequences for failing to grab it so severe. And it’s not like we don’t, ourselves, have a lot of work to do here.
We have to replace Kyogo. Now we also have to replace Jota. That’s not a position any of us would have wanted the club to be in—but here we are. There has to be a plan, and we have to execute that plan to perfection.
We have to hit the ground running the moment the window opens. We’ve got to be active and moving forward. We have our own Champions League qualifier to play and we can’t mess about.
Later on, I’m going to do a piece on the hilarious article in the Daily Record last night, suggesting some signings for the Ibrox club to make.
It’s the beginning of one of the greatest and biggest climb-downs in the history of that newspaper. It makes it abundantly clear that more and more people are coming to the same conclusion—that the transfer pot of gold is not available to that club this summer, and that they’re going to have to largely muddle through.
Unless, of course, they can start clearing some players off their books and bringing in some money for them.
So we should be looking to hit the ground running.
Because if we do that, we can be over the hills and far away before these people even get their feet under the table. As with everything else, this depends on how much ambition we’re ready to show.
If we decide that the policy will be to stay a single step ahead, then we’re making that decision at the worst possible time, at the riskiest possible moment. Because if the manager walks at the end of the season, who the hell knows what happens after that?
If ever there was a time for this club to be bold, it is right now. If we can inflict a heavy blow on the so-called takeover consortium in their first season at the club, we will set the tone for the whole of their rule—by ensuring it devolves into immediate chaos. But that’s not why we should start the summer with a bang.
We have our own goals and our own ambitions. Hurting them before they even properly start? That’s just an added benefit.
For too long our board is happy to stay half a step ahead of the car crash over the city. Doing just enough, or, as in the disastrous 10 in a row season, completely making a pigs ear of it. Rodgers has now shown with the right quality brought in we can compete in the champions league. This needs to be our aim every season. Not just doing enough domestically. The squad is a little bi polar with likes of Kuhn having spells of brilliance and then dips in form. Tierney coming back is a boost. Resigning Taylor would help. I don’t think Rodgers is settled with a CB alongside CCv and expect a signing there. A striker is also a must. Maeda has been fantastic there but with Jota out we may need him to cover the wide area and a natural goalscorer is a must to come in. Money has to be spent and this money doesn’t need to be raised through selling assets.
We already have a good striker in Adam, who with more game time will only get better.JK given a chance in the cups can be a good back up.
Defo need a strong tall powerfull CB to help CCV out.
Brendon likes a winger so would expect a new face there.
Bernardo was unlucky with injuries, but think he is a good player who will keep getting better.
Engels will be the star man next year, now he is bedded in.
Taylor needs resigned.
Couple more additions with experience and next season should be a belter.
Forget the other lot, they no longer matter.
Cannot wait to see your King and recruitment article later today as the level of contradictory articles in the rags is incredible.
I am sure they said Steinsson and Thelwell were scouring the world and a process for the selection of a world class manager was underway. Yet King says he is unaware as to what is happening in that respect. Indeed he alludes to the number of barriers that have to be overcome before that process can begin.
Then there is the summer transfer activity. Their recent articles around UEFA financial regulations were quite clearly aimed at nullifying fans hopes as to the level and numbers of new recruits Ibrox is likely to see in the near future. They also highlighted other unfortunate truths ie nobody wants to buy their current lot who need to go to create a war chest. Why would these guys jump ship when UEFA qualifiers are open to them as most probably won’t get that chance again.
Given the new launch date appears to be mid June and if a share issue is required it may be that matters are not settled until after the transfer window closes.
Yet the DR article today states “ As part of the deal, Cavenagh has also pledged to pump a significant sum into this summer’s transfer kitty. That number, although it’s not been made public, is likely to be very substantial” ??. This flies in the face of the non emotional, hard nosed businessmen ethos that they have said is likely to be the case.
Jackson has been tagged as the mouthpiece for this but it is clear from his article this morning he is no fan of either King nor the current Board? We also now see that King appears to have bigged up his part and rationale of a legacy he wants to be known for when there is now a suggestion Murray may have been the instigator?
Please unravel it all for us.
I’ll unravel it for you daviebhoy54 – Your second last paragraph sounds like you sort of ‘believe’ The Scummy’s of The Scummy Daily Record and have been sucked in by their distortion of the truth…
Why you would ever put your hard earned money towards these Scummy’s I’ll never understand, even finding it on an unoccupied bus seat I wouldn’t go near the Pathological Lying rag of evil with a barge pole for sure…
It’s a publication run by rats (apologies to the rat that crossed the road as I walked home from the postbox last night) for human rats and certainly not for Celtic supporters to be funding them for sure…
Honestly what I find out from the The Celtic Blog and Video Celts does for me regarding them…
I honestly think I’d rather catch fuckin cancer that pay a penny towards these trashy scumbags and I don’t say that lightly as it killed ma late daddy and his sister my late Auntie as well…
But that’s how much I hate them that I have to resort to such off the scale but honest opinions !
A propos rien I did laugh when I saw an article there today where they managed to turn Arsenal’s defeat last night into an article about their dead ancestors beating PSG under Advocatt, twelve million years ago. The link was that a young Arteta was on loan to PSG from Barcelona. An ex Ibrox teammate reminded Arteta that beating PSG isn’t for everyone. Unbelievable.
James
You are right about not repeating the mistakes of previous years. Still think we need a Scott Brown type for midfield and to recognise that Calmac will start to lose his legs soon.
Our bigger challenge will be holding on to Maeda and Kuhn. The temptation for the board to use the money from them to pay for the replacements for Kyogo, Jota will be too great for them to resist citing financial prudence etc. Whether BR stands up to this or walks will be the issue on which next season could turn.
There is no need to panic. we need a stronger, left footed centre back, and a 30 goal per season number 9. Float the boat for a good one. 13, 14, 15 million. I know nothing is guaranteed with the qualifier, but our season rests on it. We must enter the CL. Succession planning for Calmac is needed, however, Bernardo can fulfil that role when the time comes. I wish that was never, but we all move on eventually. If we keep the rest of the squad from 24/25, we’ll do the tr3ble again, and hopefully pull our weight in Europe. Hail, Hail.
James,
It’s got nothing to do with Ibrox, mate. While I appreciate your writing, at what point will you and others realize that there’s a large section of fans—hell, maybe it’s just me—who’ve had enough of the whole narrative? We can enjoy the banter, the absurdity of it all, but we don’t give a damn about them as a serious rival anymore. The constant talk about the “fear factor” doesn’t resonate. That’s not going to change—it’s always going to be the same. “We’re not one half of anything,” as someone once said.
Rodgers, the players, the media—week in, week out, we hear it. We focus on one game at a time. No opponent is more important than the next. That’s been the mantra since 2016. It’s clear as day, but the message is getting lost.
Celtic fans have two choices: either accept that the Rangers of our youth—the ones that brought real fear, impact, and danger to our season—are long gone, or you keep lying to yourself and pretend they’re the same. At least be honest about it. Then, maybe, we can move forward.
It’s insulting, honestly, watching this whole narrative get ramped up to “we must do this because of bibs vs. non-bibs FC.” No, we don’t. We need to focus on what we do. We don’t owe them a damn thing.
The Celtic board wants to stay one step ahead for the ‘brand,’ but the fans do all the heavy lifting. We are the ones carrying the passion, the energy, the emotion, while the board just sits there. I wouldn’t give them that much credit.
I had a great celebration when we won the league, savoured it, reflected, and I’m still riding that high. But the amount of Celtic fans online, crying about our “pure deid, not even a club anymore” rivals, is pathetic. Imagine if you were dumped by your missus and reacted like this—“didn’t like her anyway”—throwing a tantrum on social media, getting restraining orders in the process. Grow up.
Imagine this was a Murray Real Rangers; who after 98 went out and just opened the bank of Scotland bottomless pit of cash, signed a dutch who’s who, and win a treble. Or when they again cheated under smith, rattled 3 in a row, or when they tried to sign cousin in admin. That was a fuckin relentless bastard of a club. Just a psychotic mentalist that would give a grown man sleepless nights.
I sleep like a baby.
Peace
FFS the page is quite jittery today
Correction
The Celtic board APPARENTLY want to be just one step ahead for the ‘brand’ – the Celtic fans do more for that ‘brand’ and are more passionate outwardly about it and put so much into another team in our footballing orbit, than the Celtic board are capable of. I wouldn’t give the Celtic board that much credit.