Poor old Raman Bhardwaj. All he does is read the ‘news’ off the autocue and all of a sudden he is the love child of Adolf Hitler and Darth Vader! His crime? Reporting that one Celtic fan had been arrested during Sunday’s match against the Sheep for so called "sectarian singing" and not the fact that the club had announced record profits unseen in Scottish Football previously.
I am unsure if Raman actually wrote the piece itself, or chose to reflect more on the fan issue and not on the share issue so I would rather direct my ire at the programme rather than the presenter. The STV Sports reporting of Celtic in recent times has been nothing short of atrocious. Footage of new signings scoring own goals, getting sent off or missing sitters is commonplace on weeknights around 18:18, but paranoia aside this latest indiscretion is beyond belief let alone suspicion!
Celtic yesterday announced pre-tax profits of a whopping 15.04M an increase in turnover by almost one-third to £75.24m and a reduction in debt by half to £4.99m. This was due to the sustained involvement in last season's Champions League, and a more efficient business plan that was central to the off-field success.
The figures are particularly impressive when considering the club have spent £14.4m in squad improvements, most recently in Scott Brown (£4.4m) and Massimo Donati (an estimated £2.5m), and have also spent £8m on their new Lennoxtown training academy, which is expected to be completed by October.
So the sports editor of STV faced with two potential stories, decides that the story that will take centre stage is the news that a Celtic Fan was arrested at Pittodrie for alleged sectarian singing!!!
That’s why we’re paranoid!
On the subject of the fantastic financial results Chief Executive Peter Lawwell has not ruled out further transfer activity and has stated that this activity is not dependent on Champions League qualification. He said, "Obviously it would be of huge benefit if we reach the Champions League group stages again but the manager's budget is not dependent on that," Lawwell told The Herald. "We have a plan in place regardless."
Lawwell has every right to feel a bit smug with himself after a fantastic tenure in the Celtic hotseat that would have his predecessors green with envy. The financial model adopted by Quinn and Lawell backed and facilitated by Gordon Strachan has the club actually seeing the fruits of its labour rather than not turning over a profit. Lawwell continues "If you look back to 2003 and the UEFA Cup run, we made as much money as we did from Europe last year but the difference was we sustained a £7.8m loss and this time we have made a £15m profit," he said. "The difference now is that we have a more sustainable cost base and good income on player trading.
"Gordon came in and bought into what we were trying to do, in terms of playing certain games and trying to bring in the right players of the right quality to improve the team. It is a joint success, we want to maximise the business numbers but also provide success on the field. I think these results show we have achieved that but we want to continue this progress."
Lawwell went on to speak about his own future for the very first time, stating that he was content and that whilst he is not looking to cover himself in glory (or fake tan) he hopes his efforts are not in vain. "I am delighted with the figures, love the job and have no thoughts of doing anything else. It's not about personal acclaim but hopefully there is an appreciation within the club." There certainly is Peter!
Now stop talking to the press and go and get Nakamura signed up for another few years! You’re not he messiah you are a very naughty boy!
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt