The headline is a bit of a redundant statement but it fits in well with what we’ve seen from Celtic’s annual results today.
The club reported an £11.5m loss but their bank balance is still strong with £19m cash in the bank. Given the pitfalls of the pandemic and closed door football, how have Celtic managed to keep their heads well above water?
The supporters.
Price of Football Kieran Maguire has broken down some key elements of Celtic’s sustainability in uncertain times and the supporters have backed the club to this position.
Record merchandise sales has been a massive boost to the club – the club’s deal with Adidas certainly baring fruits with supporters lapping up the kits and training gear at high volume.
We then go to season ticket sales and in a season where Celtic did not get one fan through the door, the club made around £20 from ‘stadium operations’. Kieran wasn’t sure as to why that could be, assuming season ticket money had been refunded for the whole season or deferred until this term. That was not the case as we all know and Celtic raked in a lot of money from supporters last season for a below par streaming experience.
Celtic sent out a £50 voucher to spend in Celtic stores as a thank you.
Celtic balance sheet strong with £19m cash in bank mainly from ST sales receipts for 2021/22. pic.twitter.com/8D8AZ4e7Tu
— PriceOfFootball (@KieranMaguire) September 21, 2021
Celtic continue to do well financially because of the supporters again buying in this season. Season ticket money proving vital to our operations. That’s no surprise because we don’t have Champions League football and haven’t since Brendan Rodgers second season in charge.
The supporters have backed the club so much, even after being branded entitled through some of the media lap dogs in the press.
The custodians of our club have got so many things wrong and set us up for failure this season by not acting as astutely and promptly as they could after last season’s debacle.
Celtic fans want these custodians to be held to account. The club is in a great position due to the supporters and we must never forget the role played by every single Celtic fan who puts their hard earned cash into Celtic Football Club.
