Celtic's Money Connections
I'm not going to pretend to have a clue about .
The fans seem deliriously happy, so you'd want to assume he makes good footballing sense.
But does he make good business sense?
The arrival at Parkhead, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, smashes through the transfer window.
With three additional signings yesterday, it's contrary to the much smaller sums being spent by most other clubs - with the exception of Manchester City, backed by big Arab money.
The total estimated spending in the English leagues through the winter transfer window fell from about £170m last year to only about £30m.
Best for Hibs
The Keane move also goes against the trend of players heading south. A notable feature of the past month of stars from Scotland's top clubs being sought by clubs some way down the English league pecking order.
That, in itself, ought to tell you something about the financial state of Scottish football, at least relative to the English variety.
So what makes Robbie Keane worth £65,000 per week? That's simple. He's box office.
The presumption is that he makes sense in ticket sales, TV audiences and replica shirts.
But can a whole team expect to get proportionate pay, or could it be that the pay gap between sporting superstars and their less celebrated team-mates becomes ever wider?
Being on loan, Keane saves Celtic the multiple millions it would have cost to sign him from Spurs.
And unlike some who have headed for Scottish clubs, he's not at the washed-up end of his career. (I'm old enough to recall George Best joining Hibs in 1979 for the unimaginably large fee of £2000 per week.)
Rangers debt
And Celtic is in a strong enough position to take this kind of financial risk.
At the end of its last financial year, it had debts of £1.5m, and despite the peaks and troughs of football finance, it had retained revenue and cut its out-goings in order to turn a £2m profit.
By contrast, its rivals across Glasgow at Ibrox were carrying £31m, up by more than £10m in the year and leaving a loss for last year of nearly £13m.
Although its position is looking good in the Scottish Premier League, Rangers has the Bank of Scotland on its back and it has not been spending on new players.
And what's in all this for Robbie Keane?
The weekly pay packet is probably quite persuasive.
But the other factor is that element of football that doesn't feature on a balance sheet and which explains why the industry hasn't yet collapsed - loyalty and affection for the club from boyhood days.
Hullo, I'm Douglas Fraser, and I'm business and economy editor at 91Èȱ¬ Scotland. Welcome to my blog, where you can read my take on money matters, viewed from a Scottish perspective.
Comment number 1.
At 2nd Feb 2010, cabsandy wrote:Are Celtic actually stumping up the whole £65,000-or is it a "joint" venture?
I would also take issue with the the recoup in money through season ticket sales,jerseys etc argument. He's only on loan and it doesn't matter how many years he's been a Celtic fan (Liverpool fans will be having an ironic smile), he's heading back down the M74 in May (most probably without a medal). Reason?-he can want all he wants to stay at Sellick but Spurs wont sell him for less than £10 million-and even Dr John Reid wont sanction that amount of money. For Robbie Keane, read Craig Bellamy.
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Comment number 2.
At 2nd Feb 2010, uk_abz_scot wrote:£65K per week - say for 20 weeks come to £1.3 Million. If they can get an extra 5000 through the turnstiles per home game then maybe with a cup run it makes sense.
However if the Keane effect is a five minute wonder (due to loss of form, injury or suspension) then it could be another financial issue.
Some clubs are doubtless in reasonable shape financially, but a glance at the sports pages reveals that many clubs are not in the best of shape financially.
Football has to hope that the TV companies keep paying.
Oddly enough fans seem to always dislike the board members who keep the finances steady.
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Comment number 3.
At 2nd Feb 2010, Gerry Braiden wrote:Yip Douglas, you did say you know nothing about keane, celtic and football and have indeed proven yourself correct.
Spurs continue to make up the bulk of keane's wages, while uncle Dermot (that's desmond, the majority shareholder and successful irish entrepreneur) will make up most of the rest.
Gifthorses and mouths and all that Douglas.
And what's in it for Keane? A shop window. Happy to oblige in proving that.
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Comment number 4.
At 2nd Feb 2010, U14110575 wrote:Does anyone actually know the FACTS about Robbie Keanes wages?
Or is this all mere speculation?
Or is it a poor attempt to take the shine of a remarkable signing?
Or am I just paranoid.
The Title race is certainly back on .
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Comment number 5.
At 2nd Feb 2010, cabsandy wrote:The bit I didn't mention is
1) that the majority of Sellick fans are season ticket holders-so no extra money unless its a Cup game
2) You get a shirt/ or your existing shirt with the name Keane on it-your going to look a bit silly in 4 months when he signs for Aston Villa
I think the money comes from from the fact that Celtic have recouped more than they have spent-and the extra will pay for the Bhoy Wonder's wages. I just hope for the East End faithful that he doesn't pull a hamstring-or put out his back lifting up his wallet
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Comment number 6.
At 2nd Feb 2010, SteadyBoar wrote:Keane will be a good signing for Celtic but the media hype regards his signing illustrates the mediocrity of the Scottish game.Box office??!!! World class?!!!! Is Keane even Premiership class today? A failure at Liverpool,fifth choice at Spurs??? Failure to perform against a side struggling for SPL survival?? Not exactly the CV of a current world class player!
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Comment number 7.
At 3rd Feb 2010, northhighlander wrote:What is really not mentioned is that Robbie appears to have had a lot of boyhood teams. He gave the same quote when he signed for Liverpool, they were the only team he wanted to play for from his childhood, he gave a very similar comment to Spurs and Leeeds fans as well.
The truth behind the move is he has not scored regularly for some time, his place at Spurs long term is under threat, if he wants to protect he £65k a week long term he needs to find his touch again. A move to an easier league might do the trick.
But if it makes the Celtic fans happy to see him as a prodigal son returning then good luck to them.
This is a huge gamble for Celtic, three loan signings costing over £3m who will all leave in the Summer? If they don't win the league then they have lost a lot of money. Unless of course they feel they need to spend that to fend of Hibs...
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Comment number 8.
At 3rd Feb 2010, discodale wrote:OK, so that's the Old Firm's finances explained. How's the rest of Scottish football doing in that sense? Much is made of Hearts' debt, but what's the truth behind that?
Are the rest of the SPL on an even keel financially, and what's the story with the lower leagues?
There are regular reports from down south of clubs in administration or being close to complete collapse. Following the Livingston debacle last season it would be interesting to hear how the rest of Scottish Football is faring in terms of money.
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Comment number 9.
At 16th Feb 2010, marqthompson wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 10.
At 5th Jun 2010, eret anika wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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