Three weeks ago Peter Lawwell was telling Celtic shareholders how it is becoming increasingly difficult in the Champions League but the club was striving to be competitive.
Last night FC Copenhagen beat Galatasaray 1-0 to finish second to Bayern Munich in Champions League Group A with eight points.
There will be no European football for Manchester United in the new year, their one Champions League victory involved a last minute penalty save from Andre Onana to deny Copenhagen a point.
Tonight Lawwell and his boardroom colleagues will look out at the disco lights and hope that Celtic can win the dead rubber against Feyenoord to end a six year run without a win, 10 years without a home win- over the last month Copenhagen have beaten Manchester United and Galatasaray.
If Copenhagen can do it, Celtic should be able to do it. Nobody will tell me differently. pic.twitter.com/4DeorR2FgR
— CelticLisboa (@CelticLisboaa) December 12, 2023
Whatever metric you care to look at- turnover, stadium size, wage bill, CEO salary Celtic are far bigger than the Danish champions.
Only serial failings at an executive level mean that it has taken the Danes just one season to match Celtic’s points total over their last three campaigns.
I would venture that Copenhagen have football people running the team and not an ex accountant, his son and an old doddery billionaire who uses Celtic as a plaything that he bothers about 2 or 3 times a year. We are a shambles off the pitch and they have made us a laughing stock
— PicklesMcPickle (@StenFluffman) December 12, 2023
And in a far more difficult group! Our Board only care about making money and until that changes, we’ll remain the whipping boys of the UCL.
— Doug Smith (@Skyseller67) December 13, 2023
Copenhagen summer spend – €17.7m income, €8m expenditure (€9m profit) – squad decrease of 2 players
Celtic summer spend – €34m income, €22m expenditure (€12m profit) – squad increase of 7 players
Of the 7 Celtic brought in only 2/3 are seen with any degree of regularity
— CelticFan7691 (@CelticFan7691) December 12, 2023
2023 income £25.5.m v Celtic £119.9m!
— Algarve Celtic (@AlgarveCeltic) December 12, 2023
They wage bill 24m less than ours . And they recent report on the revenue was 48 million less than Celtic football club sack the board
— specks (@specks17145060) December 12, 2023
Now for all the happy clappers…”but, but…[insert excuse here]”
— cowabunga1.2 (@2Cowabunga1) December 13, 2023
Technically they are in a harder group as well ?. Good for them though! What ive noticed when i seen wee highlights is theyve defended well, something Celtic cant do
— Francis Bradley (@bra83001) December 13, 2023
The Celtic board will tell you differently. Bunch of imposters.
— CFC (@MarkFeely6) December 13, 2023
In a considerably harder group than ours too.
— Huell?? (@huell_2) December 12, 2023
They probably have a squad of about 20 established players. Celtic have a few established players plus about 25 players who haven’t played 59 games in senior football at a decent level.
— Big Ernie (@RRumbles6) December 12, 2023
We’re run firstly as a plc not a football team .Only there to to bring a dividend. On par with the power companies just interested in maximising profit, Our reputation in Europe has been destroyed by DD and PL mainly due to their “old firm” business plan and being happy just to collect champs league participation money
…a bit like the incredible sevco penalty stats…?
There is a clear pattern emerging at our club:
decent annual financials,
perennial European failure,
seriously underperforming club when benchmarked
against similar – and smaller – sized clubs in Europe.
To focus minds at CFC: annual bonuses MUST also be
linked to ‘tangible, European progress’.
What’s your point ? Your totally contradicting your stupid argument.
It’s proves its not about money and nothing to do with the board…its the managers ,the recruitment and tactically nieve…the board have sanctioned signings based on scouts recruitment recommendations….your one of the uneducated entitled fans
Editor: Do you know the surname of the Head of Recruitment?
Yes i do….so what’s the excuse for years he wasn’t at club….your just a clown trying to cause trouble when your story makes no sense at all. ….
We were told by Desmond Jnr. that his father, Desmond Snr; the plc’s majority shareholder, thinks about Celtic first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Do you believe that?
I mean, they say that there is one born every minute! (A sucker!).
Now, that is much more credible!
Que?
At the end of the day …results are determined by the players you use…how you use them…and how to adjust to the opposition if required.
IMO…some of the players we use are just not good enough…Technical skills, physicality and athleticism are not there…That’s problem number one.
The way BR uses them …is to me…wrong….The slow play across the back stuff gives me the shudders…especially if Joe Hart is involved…Our style of play needs a radical overhaul as we are being sussed by coaches and treated accordingly…And finally….BR does not appear to have the knowledge or the courage to change things…As was witnessed at Kilmarnock.
And finally…to have a striker like Kyogo go from hero to zero…and when Phillips is your first choice back up CB…that tells you something is seriously wrong.
However we do have lots of money in the Bank…the Dividends are secure…and the Bonuses are always welcome…What’s not to like. ?
Our Board is not fit for purpose.
We all know that the problem is in the board room. What has happened is what Mr McCann said we should never let happen. Profiteers have been allowed to infect our club and one person is in control with his lackey as chairman a positions given to family members.
The wolves are dressed up in sheep’s clothing and are the new Kelly’s and Whites in disguise. Celtic will not progress with these hypocrites at the helm and we will steadily go backwards now. Celtic is a cash cow for these people. Hence the jocular responses at the AGM. Although we laugh at the peepul being taken for mugs, we should realise that we are in exactly the same position. We are now officially mugs as well. I despair.
When Fergus last came to a game, he insisted on sitting in amongst the fans in the stand opposite the dugouts. He did not sit with the charlatans. I believe he was sending a message. How I wish he was still here, because he was not devious, was trustworthy and strong willed. Compare that to what we have now.
Is it a catastrophic if the lose a league game or fail to win their league are they called boring if they play defensively having said all that I agree we can do better in europe with a change in tactics