Why Fergus had future figured out
Last weekend, Celtic posted profits of £ 33.9million for the first six months of their latest financial year.
Two days earlier, Rangers announced their latest share issue, with Stuart Gibson buying 4m shares for £1m.
For footbal l f inance expert David Low, those f i g ur e s sum up the d i f f e r e n c e b e t we e n Glasgow’s big two right now.
Low, who advised Fergus McCann when he prevented the Bank of Scotland from putt ing Cel tic out of business in 1994, believes the US-based businessman’s impact is still felt.
And Low argues that McCann’s forward-thinking has made Cel t ic the dominant club in Scotland in both footballing and financial terms.
Low said: “Celtic’s figures were good but pretty much as expected. Their position is very sound because they have money in the bank, they’re consistently making profits and, crucially, they’re very experienced when it comes to playing the transfer market.
“Clubs need to be successful in their transfer deal ings – buying low, selling high – if they’re going to thrive. That’s particularly true in Scotland.
“Clubs post operational losses but make up for that with a surplus when it comes to trading player registrations and Celtic have been adept at that for the last decade or so while, for the most part, Rangers haven’t been.
“The model for modern football clubs is to fund their activities through transfers.
“Rangers have done better recently by selling Nathan Patterson to Everton and then pulling in £19.5m for Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo. But they’re lagging behind Celtic in this area and they currently have a host of first- team players whose deals are about to expire.
“In fact, Rangers have three disadvantages when it comes to Celtic. Number one is that Celtic have 10,000 more seats in their stadium and generate an extra £250,000-£300,000 revenue from each home game.
“The second factor is that Celtic have a strong balance sheet and money in the bank, which Rangers don’t. Plus they also have an overdraft facility available which they’ve never used.
“So Celtic’s figures for six months are very good and their accounts for the full year will also be impressive.
“With the sales they’ve made plus Champions League football, Rangers’ numbers should be good but they’re unlikely to be as impressive as Celtic’s.
“What we do know is that Rangers don’t have much money in the bank or a declared overdraft or debt facility with a major bank, which means they have to rely on shareholder loans or directors’ share issues.
“There was another share issue last week but they can only rely on that as long as directors are willing or able to provide a loan or swap debt for equity.”
Low insists it was a stroke of genius from McCann that has allowed Celt ic to outspend their rivals. He said: “The biggest problem Rangers face is those extra 10,000 seats at Celtic Park and that’s down to Fergus.
“Probably the biggest and bravest decision he took was to rebuild the ground and increase the capacity to 60,000. That’s why Celtic have enjoyed a financial advantage.”