ANGE HAS HIT A £30M JACKPOT
Aussie spent wisely to win title... now he has more ammunition to fire in next window
THE importance of winning this season’s Scottish Premiership will be measured in pounds and pence. The expulsion of Russian clubs from UEFA competitions means Scotland’s champions will be playing in the group stage of the Champions League next season.
That team will be Celtic and SwissRamble, the Twitter feed dedicated to football finance, has already spelled out the difference that makes to the bottom line.
Simply by securing a place in the group stage Celtic will earn £13.162million straight off the bat.
Currently 38th on the ten-year coefficient table — significantly higher than Rangers in 98th place — that brings another £7.7m.
The share of the television pool is less than it used to be, but still comes in at £6.1m. Like other clubs there’s a £1.2m subtraction for a Covid rebate payment, but that will be offset comfortably by £6m in gate receipts for three home games.
How much the new champions earn after that depends on how many points they win. For a draw, a team earns £782,000 and for winning a game the figure is £2.3m. Win four points in a group, then, and that’s another £3.1m. Reach the last 16 and there’s £8.1m up for grabs.
Put it like that and you gain a sense of how big a gamble the appointment of Ange Postecoglou really was.
The last time a Scottish team reached the group stage of the Champions League was 2017/18, when Brendan Rodgers was Celtic boss. Since then, the Scottish Premiership champions have slid to one ignominious qualifying defeat after another. Celtic crashed out to AEK Athens, Cluj, Ferencvaros and FC Midjtylland of Denmark. In August, Rangers lost to ten-man Malmo at home.
A chance to go straight into the group stage with no prospect of embarassment felt like winning one of Willie Wonka’s golden tickets. That’s why Celtic were prepared to wait for a top-class manager like Eddie Howe. And why the Englishman’s last minute U-turn felt like the death knell for their hopes of winning the title.
When Postecoglou emerged as the back-up option the response was a collective shrug.
At his unveiling, the Australian sat side by side with Dominic McKay. Asked to take a guess that day, most would have tipped the new CEO to last a good deal longer than the new manager. Addressing the doubts he had to overcome Postecoglou might even have been one of them.
‘There was a lack of real knowledge about who I was and what I did,’ he admitted. ‘It was disheartening for me.’
Glasgow was no exception to the general rule. Supporters and journalists asked why Celtic were taking a punt on a 55-year-old Australian manager with little or no experience of club management at a high level in Europe.
Postecoglou could easily have fallen flat on his face. He could have added his name to the likes of John Barnes, Paul le Guen and Pedro Caixinha, men who arrived in Glasgow to acclaim before leaving six months later with a black bin bag under their arm. Eleven months later, however, the gamble has paid out with interest. Celtic have picked a proven winner.
There is no secret to his success or to his staying power. After years of mediocre player recruitment, Celtic have found a coach with an eye for a player. Critics will point to the £20m plus spent in the transfer market and say the Parkhead side should be winning the league.
Kyogo Furuhashi, Carl Starfelt, Liel Abada, Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis all signed for significant fees. Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate and Joe Hart cost a few quid as well.
When the new man took charge of his first competitive game against Midtjylland, however, he fielded £5m Vasilis Barkas in goal. Ismaila Soro — a £1.5m signing — was in midfield. And one of the late substitutes was £5m misfit Albian Ajeti.
How much money a team spends in Scotland has always been secondary to how they spend it. And Postecoglou has spent Celtic’s cash wisely.
The reward for taking a punt on Scotland’s new manager of the year will be a UEFA bounty in excess of £30m. There is no excuse, now, for allowing Jota or Cameron Carter-Vickers to slip through the fingers. Whatever it costs Celtic should sign the two of them and firm up that loan deal for Daizen Maeda while they’re at it.
The cash to sign new players is nice. Yet, for Postecoglou himself a stunning first season at Celtic will bring a different kind of reward.
In 1997/98, Dutchman Wim Jansen marked his one season in charge by winning the League Cup. Beaten by Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final he added the league title on the final day of the season.
Days after beating St Johnstone he resigned. His last game as
Parkhead boss was 24 years ago and he was barely seen around these parts again. In January he died after a lengthy fight with dementia.
At Celtic’s Player of the Year dinner last weekend, however, the Dutchman’s family were invited as guests of honour. Two decades since he left Celtic in rancour his memory lives on.
Successful managers of Glasgow’s big two clubs are never remembered for the Champions League money or the bottom line in the annual accounts. Delivering titles and trophies brings devotion and a small slice of immortality.
And, by winning the most unlikely Celtic title of recent times Postecoglou has secured his place in the club’s history books.
Speaking in a podcast his countryman Scott McDonald, a former Parkhead striker, summed it up best.
‘You can’t describe or actually put into words what it’s like to actually be part of a club like Celtic,’ said the Australian.
‘Once you are part of that family, it’s for life.
‘What they give you while you are there, and the euphoria and the experiences that you go through are not to be compared.
‘So many players go through tough times when they leave a club like Celtic because of what it gives you and what people give you. Winning things and how special that is to the people around you.
‘Ange is experiencing that now first-hand. And the rollercoaster that goes with it.
‘It’s one thing to be a player, but when you are the icon of the football club and leading it then it’s your face posted everywhere.
‘You’re the guy everyone answers to or looks for the answers from.
‘If you are coming up with the goods people never forget you.
‘He can be gone from Glasgow and in 20 years’ time he will walk down the street and still be known as an icon by one half of the city and be respected. He is certainly on his way to creating history for himself.’