Frugal Celtic, a club reluctant to evolve

Eleven years ago, after a staggering group campaign which saw wins over Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow, Neil Lennon’s Celtic side reached the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League. Lennon and Celtic would inevitably bow out to Juventus 5-0 on aggregate, but reaching and sharing the stage among Europe’s elite clubs was an incredible achievement in itself, with the club failing to re-appear on such a stage in the 11 years that have passed.

The stars of Celtic’s run to the knockout stages of Europe’s premier competition would unsurprisingly be snapped up in the summer that followed, with key cogs in the wheel such as Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper departing to the Premier League, with starting centre-half Kelvin Wilson also leaving to Nottingham Forest in the Championship for a combined total of £20.78 million.

The club’s financial report for 2013 was labelled a ‘five year record profit’ by Peter Lawwell, with the club’s ‘profit after tax’ far surpassing the previous half a decade’s accounts. An after-tax profit of £9.74 million was made that year, an incredible improvement on the £7.37 million loss in the year that preceded it.

Repeating the achievements of the 2012-13 season was always going to be a challenge, but the ambition from the hierarchy at the club to do so was just not there. Of the £20.23 million generated in player sales that summer, just £9.27 million (46%) of it was spent on incoming players. The highest Celtic spent on a player that window was none other than Virgil Van Dijk, picked up for a bargain £2.35 million.

The rest of Celtic’s summer business fell under that figure along with failing to match the success of Van Dijk, with Derk Boerrigter and Teemu Pukki brought in for £2.14 million each from Ajax and Schalke 04, striker Amido Balde was picked up from Vitoria de Guimaraes for £1.5 million and Nir Bitton was bought for £700k from FC Ashdod.

Domestically that season, Neil Lennon’s side were almost perfect in the league, losing just one game. But unsurprisingly, a lack of investment resulted in a lack of European progression, a tale of the past decade in many regards as Celtic finished bottom of their Champions League group.

A decade on from the club’s last appearance in the knockout rounds of the Champions League, 2023 saw one of the most memorable and successful seasons in the club’s history. A treble delivered in style through Ange-ball marked a brilliant year on and off the pitch, as Celtic recorded a record breaking £33.33 million profit after tax. Financial security along with a treble winning side to build upon, hopes were high heading into the 2023/24 season.

Similar to the 2012/13 season, success brought attention as Celtic raked in £29.81 million pounds in the summer transfer window, losing key starters such as Jota and Carl Starfelt along with manager Ange Postecoglou in the process.

With UEFA Champions League football guaranteed, along with a significant bank balance, increased investment was expected from fans as the club looked to build upon a promising campaign in Europe’s premier competition after a five year drought.

£19.14 million pounds was invested into the playing squad as eight players were brought in, with Maik Nawrocki’s £4.28 million transfer fee standing alone as the highest fee spent on a player in the window. Of the eight players brought in, just half exceeded the £2.35 million spent on Virgil Van Dijk in 2013. The fees spent on Hyun-Jun Yang, Marco Tilio, Hyeok-kyu Kwon and Tomoki Iwata are a throwback to another era, an era which Celtic have grown exponentially since.

Brendan Rodgers’ side remain top of the league with their fate lying in their own hands, with time still remaining for transfer business to be done.

However, the club’s consistent inability to build from a position of strength is prudent cautiousness or sheer negligence from a board seemingly out of touch with modern football, depending on how you look at it.

A lack of investment in both windows on first team ready signings rather than jam tomorrow (maybe) signings is baffling considering the importance of this season, which may be the final one where the winner in Scotland will qualify automatically for the Champions League and as such receive the lucrative prize money on offer.

Celtic may get away with it this season, but what does the future hold for a club so reluctant to evolve? That’s my worry.

THE CELTIC STAR’S WINTER SALE IS NOW ON! GET A MASSIVE 50% OFF ALL BOOKS AT CELTICSTARBOOKS.COM/SHOP…