Former Rangers chairman David Murray has said Celtic are Europa League standard, and he may not be wrong, but his assessment misses key details. The Hoops missed out on Champions League qualification again this season after blowing a four-goal lead against LASK to crash out at the playoff stage.
The Bhoys bowed out at the same phase last season, making it back-to-back qualifying failures, and they are again competing in the Europa League this season, off to a poor start. The Hoops lost to Ferencvaros at home in their opener, and they have more difficult games to come, chief among them a date with Benfica.
But are Celtic's hopes too high? Are they a Champions League club that should expect to qualify?
Speaking on the Graeme Souness Tackles podcast, Rangers chairman Murray thinks so. He said:
“They don’t have the income.”
“Celtic’s model, buy a player at 22, sell him, reinvest, sell, reinvest. That has not worked out too well. Rangers, the same, not worked out too well. I think they are aiming too high and don’t have the funds.
“I think the fans have too much expectation in Rangers and Celtic to play at a higher level. I don’t think they have got the financial wherewithal to do it. It’s difficult to compete in the Champions League with the pressure from the fans. I think they are Europa League standard.”
The Celtic UCL debate
There are two parts to this. On the face of it, Murray is right in that the Bhoys are not going to be a Champions League powerhouse. They are at the point where, even if they qualify, the knockout play-offs is likely the best they can hope for, and even that is because the majority of teams go through.
In the Europa League, they should have greater hopes, although they have also struggled to make it to the advanced stage of that competition, so you do wonder where they fit in.
Now, technically speaking, the qualification rules give Celtic a great chance of qualifying for the Champions League, and if they do, they are a Champions League-standard club. End of.
But when you think of a Champions League club, it is one that is in the competition nine times out of 10, the sort of club that would leave everyone shocked if they did not qualify.
Celtic were once regulars, but they are not to the same degree now. The big question is whether that is for budget reasons or other reasons. And while there is a case to be made about the budget, with the Bhoys having posted a loss this season, they played a team in the playoffs that had a squad worth around a third of the value of the Celtic squad.
If that is the sort of team Celtic have to beat to get into the Champions League, then their absence is not based on budget at all.
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