Celtic Diary Saturday November 22: Look At Me Mammy, I’m Dancing

Peter Lawwell will have every reason to be pleased with himself after the AGM was deemed to be a success yesterday. The oft-criticised CEO told the support that Craig Gordon was on a three year deal-superb business by anyones standards, the living wage , whilst not actually signed up to, will be implemented to all full time permanent staff at Celtic, which whilst not everything the Trust wanted, its certainly a start, and a sign that the board do listen to the fans.

Jeanette Findlay, ready to speak for the Trust in favour of the Living Wage , on hearing the resolution was to be passed-sort of-magnanimously tore up her speech, earning applause and showing that it wasn’t about personalities or ego trips, but that it was a genuine effort to improve standards of employment for those less well paid at the club.

With several of those who work at the ground actually employed by outside entities, it should put pressure on those companies to fall in line. All in all, a great result, but there is still work to be done. However, its more than an encouraging result.

Lawwell also weighed in with the “we could be the biggest club in the world rhetoric, ” which is growing a wee bit thin, when he said;

“Unfortunately, a country with only five million people cannot compete in terms of media values against those with populations of up to 100 million.

“If we win the SPFL Premiership we will pick up £1.8million – the club relegated from the English Premier League will receive £65m.

“If Celtic played in an environment in which the media values were similar to those available in the English Premier League we’d be the biggest club in the world, no doubt. 

 He elaborated on possible solutions, without really saying that there is anything in the pipeline, but at the same time hinting that there is..

“We are not alone.

“Other leagues are suffering the same problems and there needs to be a solution. UEFA, more than ever, are open to that solution.

“There is no concrete plan at the moment, it has just been discussed. UEFA recognise the gap is growing between the major countries and the smaller nations and the bigger teams in those smaller nations.

“They also know competition is the lifeblood of sport and are open to solutions, perhaps in the form of super leagues.

“I’m more hopeful now than ever there will be a form of structural change that will benefit the smaller nations.

“We are plugged into it all. We understand what is going on in European football and if any opportunities arise – not just for Celtic but for the Scottish game as a whole – we should be there.”

With regard to the immediate  lack of funds domestically, he should be reminded that  he’s on the board of the SFA. How about suggesting to the rest of them at Hampden to maybe start to sell the game, instead of constantly running it down, and lamenting the loss of a club that cheated and went to the wall due to financial mismanagement, , a loss which has actually seen the fans of other clubs return to the terraces ?

“When Rangers went into administration in February 2012 we were asked how would that affect Celtic? My response was – and still is – that we have a strategy which is not dependent on any other football club.

“We have a strategy to offset any losses and would hope to be regular participants in the Champions League.

“We’ve developed an expertise in identifying young players, bringing them here and putting them in the Champions League.

“We’ve sought to replace the decreasing revenue streams from Scotland by transfers and playing in the Champions League.

“This has probably been the most difficult time I’ve known to attract players to Scotland, although I think we did a great job in the summer. We need to convince people and find the resources to bring the best we can here and create a winning and entertaining team.”

 Stop moaning about tv money when the league boffins haven’t even secured a sponsor for their premier competition.

But again, there is that message he’s sending out that Scottish football isn’t an attraction to foreign players. Whilst the simple solution is to improve the standard of local scouting and development, its more important to stop comparing Scottish football with England, Spain and Germany. Even the Netherlands has three times the population than Scotland, and they struggle due to English and German proximity.

The solution is to look closer to home, and if the talent isn’t there, then take the raw product and develop it.

With the new club inevitably being mentioned at the questions and answers bit at the end-which is dreaded by all committees anywhere in the world, Lawwell was firm and consistent.

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan recently said that the leagues should be manipulated to allow the biggest clubs into the top division.

Lawwell rightly disagrees.

 “I love Gordon dearly, he is a pal. But he is way off the mark there. We would never support that and there have been no discussions on it.

“There is a £10 million effect, that’s the case. But if you go back to the application from Rangers – as it is now – to get back into the SPFL the same logic is being applied.

“It’s sporting integrity. It’s a competition. It’s a sporting football competition and above all else you have to apply the rules.

“To manipulate those would be wrong. There would be clubs that would benefit – but others would suffer.” 

Iain Bankier, who is currently the chairman and had been feeling a little left out of proceedings at this point, , claimed ;

 “Believe me, we will do our utmost on behalf of Celtic and Scottish football to maintain its integrity.” 

 Personally, i’m of the opinion that  anyone who says “believe me ” at the start of a sentence is trying to convince himself more than he is trying to convince the listener. Which is a little worrying.

 Lawwell chipped in to rescue his chairman.

 “I agree, 100 per cent. We do a lot of work behind the scenes and will support the interests of our club to its ultimate ends.

“There are time we feel the need to keep some things private because we have a responsibility to the club, the board and our staff.

“It’s important they are protected as it was only two years ago there were bombs and bullets sent through the post.” 

Its the same when someone tells me that they agree. But at least he didn’t say 110%.

Lawwell is right on one thing. Irresposible reporting and attention seeking headlines can lead to problems for club staff and their families. Thats not to excuse the clowns who make these threats, or attempt to influence events through intimidation, but the papers need to acknowledge the role they play in these unacceptable actions.

As we can see, today at leat one of them has failed to take this on board.

Even to the extent that the picture has Lawwell laughing-at the plight of the now deceased club ?

Anyway, theres a game on today, and elsewhere on the site you can read a preview. Its under the title Celtic v. Dundee Preview, for anyone not used to the powerful verbal imagery  used by the team at Etims.

The Lennon CSc, from Stoke, will not be attending the game, as we had no contingency plan in place to get to a game which starts at 3pm on a Saturday.

To quote Monty Pythons Life Of Brian, when Jesus cured a leper who didn’t want to be cured, “theres no pleasing some people.”

However, if you are at a loose end today, you could do worse than have a wander down to this. Instead of a pre match beer, go and support the work of the Celtic Graves Society;

Celtic supporters have often spoken of ourselves as family, and as with all families , a link with those who have departed allows us to retain a sense of our own identity, more important in these days of constant change and commercialisation.

We need to hold on to the past, and to highlight our history, and those who were involved in it, because events have shown that things can change, and we should be proud of, and recognise and salute it wherever and whenever we can.

The guys at Celtic Graves do a great job, and deserve all the support they can get.

Look out next week for a more detailed article on what they have already done, how they do it, and what they are doing in the future.

Elsewhere, Michael Duffy is the latest Derry city player to be asked to come over and have a look at Celtic. Celtic will also have a look at him. The midfielder has a chance to follow in the footsteps of Niall McGinn and  Paddy McCourt, both of whom had the ability to succeed in Glasgow, but for one reason or another didn’t quite make it.

Good luck to him, we need a Derry lad in the team, if only to see EPL teams shirt sales take a battering over the water.

More on the Bristol based company who produced a bus which runs on human waste. Apparently Scotlands newest club, in action today at Tynecastle where they face Hearts, who actually did come out of administration, looked into purchasing the vehicle, but unfortunately it wasn’t practical, because every time the players got on, the dashboard lights indicated a fuel leak.

For those who like comedy, Second Rangers and Hearts are on BT Sports. The programmes producers will be showing highlights of previous classics between the sides, which should fill a couple of minutes for them.

Wonder if they’ll show this certificate, given as confirmation that Hearts did indeed exit administration, and ask someone at the Ibrox club for theirs ?