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The Old Firm provide some interesting contrasts. Rangers are engaged in a three year plan to reduce the club's debts of £68m. There was a £7.5m increase in turnover to £33.76m in the last six months of 2003 largely due to Rangers reaching the group stages of the Champions League. Profit before interest and tax was £4.29m in contrast to a substantial loss in the comparable period. In May 2004 majority shareholder David Murray announced that the club was considering a 'substantial rights issue' to reduce its debt. He described his £40m investment to date in Rangers as a 'mistake'. He admitted, 'I invested too much and I was caught out in the cyclical downturn of football. It has been a financial drain in the short term. If I did not have a trading company that was making money, the bank would look at it differently.' Rangers suffered financially by being knocked out of the Champions League at an early stage. Next season, having finished second in the SPL, they face a pre-qualifying round. Murray commented, 'They always say that football chairmen and businessmen are sensible but they leave their brains outside when they go into the ground. I do think that you get affected by supporter pressure, your own pressure, the chase for success. We racked up this debt because we had the dream to do better in Europe. We built a training ground. We spent a lot of money on things that I think will come good for us.'
Celtic owns the largest stadium in the UK with a capacity of 60,400 and it has almost been filled with an average attendance of 59,024. According a former chief executive, the club has been a commercial sleeping giant without a coordinated advertising and marketing strategy. A similar average gate to Manchester United at present generates only half the total revenue on match day. The club has a huge international supporter base which could help to generate revenues. In the year to 2002 turnover suffered from a lack of progress in the Champions League and was down from £36.4m to £30m. Player acquisitions saw a profit of just over £3m turned into a loss of £5.84m. Following the successful defence of its Scottish Premier Celtic have explored the possibility of joining the Nationwide league in England. Chairman Brian Quinn commented, 'I believe the factors which prompted us to explore such possibilities will not disappear. We will continue to be receptive to structural change, while maintaining our stance of not abandoning Scottish football.' How the two objectives can be reconciled remains to be seen. The club has been boosted by reaching the Uefa cup final. Two days before the match it announced the departure of its controversial chief executive, Ian McLeod. He was initially linked with the vacancy at Leeds, but is thought to be pursuing a major opportunity in the retail sector. The fact that he had been pictured in a Rangers shirt before joining Celtic did not endear him to fans. His attempts to leave the Scottish Premier League and join the Premiership were fruitless.
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