Celtic Slang | About Celtic | Celtic’s Foundation
Description
“Biscuit Tin” is a pithy term used by Celtic fans (and then picked up by the media) referring to the extreme miserliness of the old boards (pre-McCann) who were incompetent with any notion of investment in the club, team or facilities. Rather they where said to prefer to keep the money locked up in their “Biscuit Tin”.
The phrase was coined by the Celtic fanzines around the 1980s (probably ‘Not The View‘) and caught on quickly. It was a more humorous term than having to say the ‘Kelly & White dynasty’.
The bizarre thing is that the nickname was not far off the truth. In an interview with Peter Lawell (Celtic chief exec in the 2000’s) on the history of the club, he revealed that actually money, receipts and bills used to be stored in and managed using shoeboxes in the older days (1970’s).
The term is still used to this day by some, and refers to any frustration from the support on the board’s apparently timeless reluctance to release substantial funds to sign players. Not necessarily a fair term to use anymore, but history sticks and the term will forever remain.
Quotes
“Celtic have spent £4.5 million on new players in the last few years, and that’s a bloody big biscuit tin.”
Terry Cassidy, Celtic Chief Exec 1991
“The old Board were all aresholes! The [transfer] deal was done on a Holiday Inn napkin. I should have realised something was wrong as I was in the F****** Hilton!”
Frank McAvennie on the old Biscuit Tin board of Celtic
“We want to get rid of the unfair ‘biscuit tin’ image.”
Tom Grant (Celtic Park Stadium Director, 1990)
