Celtic's Controversial Approach to Supporters

The performance, results and events around the Glasgow Derby highlighted a number of issues that are a concern for Celtic supporters.

It is a given that the executive of the club treat supporters/customers with contempt and disdain, a necessary evil to be tolerated and charmed when necessary but to be dismissed at all other times as the club prioritises an even bigger bank balance at the cost of everything else.

The result and the manner of the performance on Sunday are a cause of a real concern, a red flag for the summer ahead that will define the level of ambition of the club.

At this stage it seems that the sole ambition is to remain just ahead of the club that lost to Queens Park in the Scottish Cup rather than trying to build on a surprisingly productive Champions League campaign.

By the time September comes around it will be clear what direction the club is moving in. Whether they are genuine about being ‘world class in everything we do’ as Michael Nicholson stated in June 2023 or whether being the best of a bad lot in Scotland is the real target while keeping the bank balance in the region of £80m and paying Corporation Tax that should be getting reinvested.

Central to all of this is Brendan Rodgers, his future or lack of one. With his contract running until June 2026 the classic Catch 22 situation is approaching.

When a player is in the final year of his contract there is uncertainty, this will be magnified once this season ends and the clock ticks down on Rodgers’ three year Celtic contract.

Will the board back his recruitment plans by releasing the funds raised from selling players without a commitment to extend his contract?

Does he extend his contract without getting the funds he needs to build on this season’s Champions League progress?

Rodgers was effectively sabotaged on his return to the club by the signings of Mark Lawwell in the summer of 2023, the same faces that brought in Youssuf Mulumbu, Oli Burke, Vakoun Bayo and Marion Shved during the 2018/19 season remain in positions of power.

Michael Nicholson doesn’t come over as the type of character to deal with this issue, or any issue really. He might have the title of CEO but only the most naive would believe that he has any level of executive power, certainly no one involved in transfer negotiations would believe that he is the final decision maker.

Which leads us towards a familiar problem. A manager that discusses the big issues with Dermot Desmond while dealing with others on a day to day basis. Not a healthy or constructive set up.

After a fantastic autumn highlighted by results against Atalanta and RB Leipzig and the League Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen things have tapered off since then.

The winter slog of fixtures was largely negotiated without slip ups but the opportunity of January was another let-down.

Beating YB Bern signalled the sale of Kyogo Furuhashi, no replacement was signed with other areas of the team and squad neglected.

Having won the League Cup with four eligible midfielders Rodgers was down to three midfielders for the March Glasgow Derby.

The left-back position remains an issue, currently there are two options who are both out of contract at the end of this season with Kieran Tierney signed up for next season.

Selling Kyogo in January confirmed that cashing in on assets remains the priority over building a squad of depth and quality.

With five players unavailable for yesterday’s match the substitutes bench included five players that haven’t started an SPFL match. Away to Bayern Munich in the Champions League Rodgers only had two substitutes that he could trust, one of them was Yang Hyun-jun.

Rodgers is on record about his disappointments on the January 2024 and 2035 transfer windows. Firstly he urged the club to be braver, this year he admitted that the window had left the squad lighter, side-stepping the weaker comment.

He has resigned himself to working within the established structure of the club, one that plans for a rainy day and sees not going into liquidation as a badge of honour rather than the normal way for a business to operate.

Rodgers won’t rock the boat in public, there will be no terminando declarations, he won’t refer to the club having a million wingers when the latest untested project is thrown into his squad.

It is hard to shake off the notion that he returned to Celtic to even up a few scores from the 2018/19 season, that’s not a healthy situation.

By winning the SPFL title Celtic will be one Play Off match away from a return to the Champions League, transfer activity in the summer will determine whether the club is determined to return to that arena or it is something that they are hoping for the best while being happy to fall back into the less demanding Europa League.

Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn, Arne Engels, Reo Hatate and others will attract interest in the summer, following the sale of Kyogo the agents for those players will be working hard for moves elsewhere.

There is no evidence to suggest that Celtic will be proactive in building a squad and supporting their manager, unless the elephant in the room is addressed the next few months will be traumatic behind the scenes as the club closes in on another treble.

Continuing the policies of silence isn’t the way forward whether it is with Alan Muir, Vackav Cerny or singing The Billy Boys.

A change of direction is badly needed, new leadership is utterly essential but with the current Chairman surrounded by his own appointments it seems certain that Celtic will continue in their comfy ways with ambition measured by being a few steps ahead of their chaotic O** F*** business partners.

2 Comments

by John
Posted March 17, 2025 11:07 pm 0Likes
Off topic here. My apologies due to me not being a social media person. I respect the fact that you and your counterparts need the likes of instagram etc. but fortunately I don’t. Anyway…
Let’s forget about Suttons moan about Rangers fans Grandstanding their welcome. Before the match, it’s to my understanding that the opposition fans needed to arrive an hour early and could very well have to stay in the stadium approximately thirty minutes later depending on Scotland Police and the outcome of the games result. Has anyone looked into this? But again, who cares. My issue is with Cerny. I watched Ally Mcciost and his band of idiots laugh about the incident like it was just a joke.
For decades, all sports has put in place serious measures to identify fans who throw projectiles at players and/or referees. Anyone caught doing so is usually banned from the stadium for life. So it should be. No player shall put his or her hands on a referee. No fan shall assault or attempt to place an hand upon a player or referee. This is globally unacceptable. So when a player runs by the front of the stands squirting water ( which is a projectile assault) he or she is basically setting a new precedent. The bigger picture here is this has to be dealt with seriously. Why? Because some idiots may just see it as a water spray. No harm done. Not so. If the game was played at Ibrox and the exact ending was accomplished by Celtic and the likes of Kuhn, Engels or McCown ran across the front row and did the same thing you’d be sure that a few blue knuckheads would have jumped on the pitch in retaliation and then more. And so Celtic fans would jump in support of their team and the next thing you know is a full blown riot. Don’t laugh it happens. When one idiot jumps on the hood of a car the sheep follow. Someone needs to make Cerny a serious example because many idiots and their sheep are waiting quietly for the outcome.
by John
Posted March 17, 2025 11:26 pm 0Likes
A new Precedent meaning… a player can assault fans without any ramifications.
And if any arsehole wants to dispute that “ It’s just water you Fanny “ then the next time your walking through the local mall just bring a nice tumbler of water and when you come across a random shopper wallop their face with that lovely H2O and see what the outcome results in.