Brendan Rodgers side-stepped discussion about Celtic’s recently released accounts for the financial year to 30 June 2023.
After a season in the Champions League the club announced record turnover, a profit of £40m with £72m sitting in the bank as the old year closed.
Celtic have never been in a stronger position but as fans looked for investment in the playing squad the message from the hierarchy seems to be that they have to build up reserves in preparation for the season where they fail to participate in the group stage of the Champions League.
Publishing the accounts on the eve of a Champions League tie seemed curious timing, seven days earlier there was an international break with little going on.
Against Feyenoord Celtic were without Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liel Abada and Jota from last season’s squad with none of their replacements looking comfortable at Champions League level.
Liam Scales, signed two years ago from Shamrock Rovers was probably Celtic’s with some demanding nights coming up against opposition from Spain and Italy.
Rodgers will have to fashion some points from the squad that he has, speaking after last night’s match he kept a clear distance between his job and the apparent success of the club in generating profits.
6 minutes 30 seconds
QUESTION: I just wanted to ask you about the club’s finances that were released. How positive is that for the club? And when you see the record figures, does that make you think you’d like to have seen more invested in the summer? Or are you happy with all of the business you did?
RODGERS: It’s not for me to talk about right now, I’m only thinking about the game. It is great for the club, it shows the stability of the club, how well it is run, how well the board has done over numbers of years. The strategy clearly works. For me, my job is to look after the football team.
See, see when people garble out that shit about (for e.g.) “the football side of the business” it makes my fukkin blood boil. The “business” IS football, ALL paid for by the supporters, not the fukkin leaches in the boardroom or on various, elite golf courses.
And since it’s US that pay for EVERYTHING hows about more than a few crumbs from the table that WE pay for? Listening Desmond, Lawwell and Nicholson? Naw, I thought as much. Fukkin fleas on the body of Celtic FC and its supporters. GTF!
That question is just the media trying to stir the shit big time and it was never gonna get answered…
He will probably get plenty in January if he needs it to stay ahead of Sevco –
He was never gonna get tens of millions for The ‘Champions’ ? League – A financially doped and rigged competition that I’d never pay one Ha’penny bit to watch…
Get it back to The European Cup please with away goals and Champions only taking part –
At least it was honest and more exciting back then !
Lawwell has previously forced our present Celtic manager to leave the club. If Rodgers isn’t backed financially to improve the Celtic first team it will happen again. Celtic bought Scott Brown about 15 years ago for 4.4 million.We have just spent 20million on signing 10 players.Not only no plans for progression, we are actually going backwards.The Celtic support deserve so much more.