World Soccer - UK (2020-10)

September14 - of all clubs made

impressive efforts to buy season tickets,

with no guarantees of being able to

watch. Not just a gesture of faith, but

to provide much-needed income; from

Celtic’s 53,000 to Motherwell’s 4,000.

Celtic have financial comfort of

several good years – record £101m

turnover in 2018 – posting combined

profits of £29m in two seasons, but

Lennon’s players also took pay cuts.

Celtic felt they could not be making

multi-million pound signings when

their own staff had been furloughed

and supporters’ jobs had been hit by

COVID-19. However, in August they

spent £5m on Greek goalkeeper

Vasilis Barkas from AEK Athens after

Craig Gordon moved to Hearts (and

Fraser Forster’s Southampton loan

ended), and £5m on Swiss striker

Albian Ajeti from West Ham. Lennon

is determined to keep hold of prized

striker Odsonne Edouard.

Trying to pursue Celtic, Rangers

tripled their costs in three years. Even

though turnover rose as they reached

the last16 of the Europa League,

Steven Gerrard’s first two seasons

S

cottish football’s fascination

with numbers has taken on a

new twist. Celtic’s quest for a

record tenth successive title is

no longer the only talking point: “Celtic

10” now has “COVID-19” for company.

The 2020-21 Scottish Premiership

season is now shaped by the pandemic

and its financial impact on every club.

A week before the campaign started,

newspaper back pages had transfers

pushed out by Aberdeen announcing

wage cuts of £1 million to plug a

£10m shortfall.

However, three weeks into the season,

games were postponed – not by the

football authorities (SFA and SPFL)

but by the Scottish Government - after

Aberdeen and Celtic players broke strict

COVID-19 rules on self-isolation.

Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola

Sturgeon, said the punishment was

“a yellow card – next time, it’s red.”

St. Mirren v Celtic and Aberdeen v

Hamilton were axed, as was the visit of

Aberdeen to Celtic. Aberdeen’s second

game, at St.Johnstone, was called off

when it was revealed eight players had

gone to a bar after

the game with

Rangers and two

had tested positive.

Celtic were then

plunged into crisis

when defender Boli

Bolingoli, took a secret 24-hour holiday

to Spain, hid his “crime” from manager

Neil Lennon and trained all week with

team-mates before being used as a

substitute in the1-1 draw at Kilmarnock.

Bolingoli will never play for Celtic

again. “This is the worst behaviour

I have come across,” said Lennon.

“It is a betrayal of my trust. The other

players are so angry. All their hard

work in preseason halted by one

act of selfishness.”

If Celtic winning the title for nine

seasons added a touch of familiarity,

the “new normal” includes the absence

of fans in a country which relies on

matchday crowds most. There would

usually be 60,000 at Celtic Park when

the champions hoist the league flag,

but this time, Lennon’s side had the

surreal backdrop of silence for their

5-1 victory over Hamilton Academical.

Fans – who return to stadia on

at Ibrox saw the club lose £25m.

It seems likely that Gerrard will

sacrifice his top scorer, Alfredo Morelos,

who agreed personal terms with Lille

only for the clubs to fail to agree a fee.

The only major acquisition is former

Leeds United striker, Kemar Roofe,

who cost€5m from Anderlecht, to

supplement the permanent signing of

midfielder Ianis Hagi, son of Romania

legend Gheorghe. Hagi was loaned

from Genk last season and moves for

£3m. “We need more,” Gerrard insisted.

“I have told the club that. Where we’re

at from a financial point of view, they

are questions for other people.”

At Aberdeen, Derek McInnes is the

longest-serving manager in Scotland’s

top flight, with four second-place

finishes for a fraction of what Rangers

spent. McInnes re-signedJonny Hayes,

three years after selling him to Celtic for

£1m, and the winger has agreed to

defer his wages for a year. However,

Hayes and striker Sam Cosgrove have

now incurred McInnes’ anger as two

of “The Aberdeen Eight.” The Dons had

accepted a £2m offer from Guingamp

for Cosgrove but he chose to stay, much

to chairman Dave Cormack’s frustration.

Dundee United return to the top

flight after a four-year absence, winning

the Championship by14 points. Scottish

champs in1983 and UEFA Cup finalists

in1987, they are eager to flourish

again. Manager Robbie Neilson made

a shock return to Hearts, prompting

the Tannadice club to bring in Micky

Mellon from Tranmere Rovers. It is the

48-year-old’s first taste of football in his

homeland, having spent his playing and

coaching career in England.

Phil Gordon

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Season preview2020-21

SCOTLAND PREMIERSHIP

Under pressure...

Rangers are desperate

to stop rivals Celtic

Hat-trick hero...

Edouard scored three

goals against Hamilton

“We need more. I have

told the club that”

Steven Gerrard, Rangers manager

Ten is the magic

number