Modern football has created a few rich leagues with billions of pounds in TV and sponsorship deals, leaving other clubs behind. Gone are the days when Celtic were a European super house, financed themselves by huge crowds. As time went on, the money was greater down South and in other leagues, but the gap wasn’t that vast in Martin O’Neill’s time.
Celtic could afford decent EPL players and keep the likes of Larsson, Sutton, Hartson. Therefore, the Bhoys could still compete with slightly richer clubs and make a mark in Europe.
Since that time, the financial gap has widened much more. Celtic could no longer realistically compete in the latter stages of European competition, but we maintained our ability to be competitive in the group stages of the Champions League and to remain unbeatable at Celtic Park.
In the last few seasons, the money pumped into football has gone even more mental. Top players were outwith our reach at £30m, now they cost over £100m. However, the question is – does this even bigger financial gap actually mean that the gap in quality is much different to what it was since Strachan’s time?
Many fans think so, due to our recent European form and the number of defeats at Celtic Park, which was once a fortress.
I’m not so sure. The financial gap means we are further away from affording the best players, but we couldn’t afford them after Martin O’Neill left us anyway. It doesn’t mean the opposition are actually any stronger just because they pay more for their players, nor does it mean our team is any weaker. Allow me to compare:
The line ups when Celtic beat AC Milan 2-1 in 2007:
Milan: Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Bonera, Jankulovski, Ambrosini, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaka, Inzaghi
Celtic: Boruc, Perrier Doumbe, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, McGeady, Hartley, Donati, Jarosik, Brown, McDonald
Just because Kaka cost £56m when he went to Real Madrid and would now cost £156m, it doesn’t mean that the gap in quality is different now compared to 2007. Is the Celtic team of recent years any worse than the side we had that night? Not for me.
The line ups when Celtic beat Manchester United 1-0 in 2006:
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Saha, Rooney
Celtic: Boruc, Telfer, Balde, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura, Gravesen, Lennon, Sno, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Zurawski
The line ups when Celtic drew 1-1 with Manchester United in 2007:
Man Utd: Foster, Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, O’Shea, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Carrick, Nani, Tevez, Giggs
Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, McManus, Wilson, Hartley, Brown, Robson, Maloney, McDonald, Sheridan
The line ups when Celtic narrowly lost 3-2 to Barcelona in 2008:
Barca: Valdes, Puyol, Milito, Marquez, Abidal, Iniesta, Toure Yaya, Deco, Messi, Henry, Ronaldinho
Celtic: Boruc, Caddis, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura, Hartley, Robson, McGeady, Vennegoor of Hesselink, McDonald
The financial gap is wider, but can you really say that the difference in quality between the teams on the pitch is much different today?
The top European clubs were full of world class players before, they still are now. Celtic probably had a better team under Rodgers, and currently, than we did in Strachan’s time. We used to punch above our weight and be hard to beat.
I think the financial gap is absolutely responsible for Celtic not being able to have proper success in Europe in terms of being able to reach finals again. However, I don’t think things are worse for us now than they were in 2006, 2007 or 2008. We competed well and got to the last 16 a few times back then, I think we should aim to do so again. Rather than transfer fees, the real difference between 2007 and 2017, in my opinion, was the way Rodgers set up his team. He had a rigid philosophy and left us wide open, which is football suicide against superior opposition. Lennon’s issue has been more with negotiating the qualifiers, but he showed that he could get Celtic to do well against top sides such as Lazio last season.
Europe should be the pinnacle for Celtic once this ten in a row is done. We should aim to do better again.
