SCOTLAND PREMIERSHIP, Season preview 2020-21: Ten is the magic number

SCOTLAND PREMIERSHIP

Season preview 2020-21

by Phil Gordon - World Soccer, October 2020

Scottish 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 the 1-1 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 September 14 (12?) - 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 last 16 of the Europa League, Steven Gerrard’s first two seasons 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-signed Jonny 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 in 1983 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