Celtic return fire in war of words with Dundee United chairman

[Blue Stars Bearette 1]

especially when Romanove throws his tuppance worth in

from the Rhag ....sorry this was meant for the General Sports section

Celtic return fire in war of words with Dundee United chairman over new SPL broadcast deal

CELTIC last night hit back at Dundee United chairman Steven Thompson for calling them a disgrace.

The Tannadice supremo made an official complaint to the SPL about Celtic chairman John Reid's outburst following the signing of a new television deal with Sky and ESPN.

But a Celtic spokesman said yesterday: "The club stands firmly behind all comments made in relation to this issue."

Reid said the deal that has cost the SPL £65million in lost earnings was a "debacle" following on directly from the "disastrous misjudgment" of choosing Setanta over Sky a year before the Irish-based broadcaster was forced into liquidation.

Thompson had accused Reid and Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell of double standards.

He said: "The way they have conducted themselves has been disgraceful.

"If Celtic want to make big statements can they not actually have the courtesy of Reid or Lawwell actually turning up at the meeting?"

Celtic pointed out the club had been represented at Thursday's vote by Eric Riley, Celtic's secretary and a man with 15 years' experience of speaking on their behalf at official gatherings.

But yesterday an unrepentant Thompson said: "The clubs were asked to say nothing after Thursday's meeting and Mr Reid saw fit to ignore that request. Why should the rest of us just sit there and take it when animosity is being created?

"Celtic's attitude is particularly unhelpful and the infighting that's now going on is ridiculous. I don't expect Celtic or Rangers to be publicly rebuked by the SPL over what's been said but it did annoy me, especially since they brought nothing to the table.

"It's not just me who feels the Old Firm are making life difficult for a game that's looking to attract sponsors but maybe I'm more outspoken than some others."

Thompson's plea for SPL clubs to work together for a common purpose obviously wasn't shared by Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov.

He has accused Celtic of being a "shallow club" who could lose 5-0 to Dynamo Moscow in their Champions League qualifier.

Romanov's rant continued when he said: "Celtic's only hope is for the referee to help them. If Dynamo play their best football it could be a repetition of the 5-0 loss in the clash with Artmedia."

But last night the Celtic spokesman declined to get involved in a war of words with the man whose team finished 23 points behind the league runners-up last season.

He said: "Aye, very good. We move on."

[The Hammer 11 2,817]

[GeneralCartmanLee 313]

Romanov's rant continued when he said: "Celtic's only hope is for the referee to help them. If Dynamo play their best football it could be a repetition of the 5-0 loss in the clash with Artmedia."

[J-Maestro 13,596]

For probably the only time ever I agree with Celtic on this one.

[ScottBF2 3,540]

Old Firm unite

[Jimfanciesthedude 25,475]

yup its scary to think that the jungles are correct in their battle with the other chairmen, although with their loose tongue then maybe they wont have as many friends this season as last

for once, murray and bain keeping shtum might be of help to us

[GeneralCartmanLee 313]

yup its scary to think that the jungles are correct in their battle with the other chairmen, although with their loose tongue then maybe they wont have as many friends this season as last

for once, murray and bain keeping shtum might be of help to us

Bain also released on a statement on friday but it didn't go as far as the filths.....

[ClintonGrey 365]

While i agree with ra sellik for once, this part had me cracking up.

He has accused Celtic of being a "shallow club" who could lose 5-0 to Dynamo Moscow in their Champions League qualifier.

Romanov's rant continued when he said: "Celtic's only hope is for the referee to help them. If Dynamo play their best football it could be a repetition of the 5-0 loss in the clash with Artmedia."

[blueben_d 40]

I agree with Romanov

[MisterC 12,715]

Am I right in thinking that old firm tv plan would have been worth 25 mil over 2 seasons. ESPN/SKY is 65mil over 5 seasons. What is 65 divided by 5 and what is 25 divided in 2? Sounds to me that the old firm tv plan was drawn up on the back of a fag packet, a good idea in principle but was it thought properly through. Also I think reid and liewell should have been there to put the case and its not like them to miss an opportunity to be in the limelight is it?

[Blue Stars Bearette 1]

Am I right in thinking that old firm tv plan would have been worth 25 mil over 2 seasons. ESPN/SKY is 65mil over 5 seasons. What is 65 divided by 5 and what is 25 divided in 2? Sounds to me that the old firm tv plan was drawn up on the back of a fag packet, a good idea in principle but was it thought properly through. Also I think reid and liewell should have been there to put the case and its not like them to miss an opportunity to be in the limelight is it?

OF didn't seem to have a solid plan on the table and times are tough I guess the others went for the ESPN/SKY offer as its at least something concrete...also Reid's outbursts are just fat to fire and not necessary

[J_RFC87 762]

Romanov

[ConorRFC51 38]

Am I right in thinking that old firm tv plan would have been worth 25 mil over 2 seasons. ESPN/SKY is 65mil over 5 seasons. What is 65 divided by 5 and what is 25 divided in 2? Sounds to me that the old firm tv plan was drawn up on the back of a fag packet, a good idea in principle but was it thought properly through. Also I think reid and liewell should have been there to put the case and its not like them to miss an opportunity to be in the limelight is it?

He's meaning that at the start of last season the SPL had the choice to switch over their coverage to Sky at the same price Shitanta were giving at the time - which I think is 130M. Despite the warnings from the 3 clubs that accepted this that Shitanta weren't reliable, the other SPL clubs were naive and the deal was rejected. Now a year on, we've ended up with the same deal, but half the price.

[FlippinEck 3,835]

Interestingly enough, this line makes it sound as if they are sticking up for celtic

But last night the Celtic spokesman declined to get involved in a war of words with the man whose team finished 23 points behind the league runners-up last season.

[tommy2212 151]

The rest of the clubs already hate Rangers and Celtic with a passion anyway, who cares - the deal is done, they have cut their noses of to spite their face.

[keithgersbear 3,225]

LOL @ Romanov.

[Brubear 2,969]

Am I right in thinking that old firm tv plan would have been worth 25 mil over 2 seasons. ESPN/SKY is 65mil over 5 seasons. What is 65 divided by 5 and what is 25 divided in 2? Sounds to me that the old firm tv plan was drawn up on the back of a fag packet, a good idea in principle but was it thought properly through. Also I think reid and liewell should have been there to put the case and its not like them to miss an opportunity to be in the limelight is it?

It was Rangers who originally suggested an OF deal. The idea was that the yearly offer was only the same as Sky/ESPN but with the SPL only lokced in for 2 years in stead of 5 with the view being that post recession a better deal could be got rather than waiting 5 years to renew it. The problem was that the OF were not actually going to run a TV company so still needed a company for them to sub-contract it to and realistically that was only Sky or ESPN who had originally said they wanted a 5 year deal. So unfortunately the OF deal was flawed from the very start, and therefore nothing to be put in front of the SPL last Thursday. Does not get away from the fact SPL took the wrong offer a year earlier and Thompson and the rest are now saying it is easy in hindsight to say Setanta was the wrong offer but us, the mhanks and the sheep actually told them Setanta was a high risk option up front, so no hindsight involved.

[chewbacca 8]

The Sky/ESPN deal is only for two years correct? With a view to extending by another two years if agreed by all parties.