The fringes of Celtic fan media stands up against the on-message tide

Thankfully there are still Celtic news sources out there that retain their independence, they can assess the club and draw conclusions that often go against the grain.

Those views might be gaining a little momentum.

Celtic’s PR operation has a strained relationship with fan media, many sites crave an invite to a presser as vindication of their status, others avoid it as a badge of honour to vindicate their status.

James Forrest is an incredible Celt, a fantastic success story, a grounded good guy that does his job, strives to be the best and has never caused a moment of fuss throughout 15 years involved with the first team.

However he doesn’t make for great content. Various fan media sites and podcasts were speaking to Forrest yesterday, there was nothing of note to emerge, Forrest remains the same grounded, dedicated and talented player that he has always been.

Out on the fringes of fan media two sites produced must read articles, articulating and rounding up the problems and issues facing Celtic.

While their mainstream media partners tell Celtic that they are a fantastic business success, the envy of others with a stunning player trading model and ground-breaking commercial deals the reality is very different.

When it comes to quality over quantity Critical Bill on Celtic Underground is in a league of his own.

Two or three times a year he will share his views, summing up the lack of strategy, business sense and forward planning that are the hallmark of a club involving Peter Lawwell with the knock on effect that it has on the football operation.

While Brendan Rodgers, who isn’t without his faults, strives to put the best possible team on the park, inside the club there are other priorities as the Bank Balance and Corporation Tax bill confirms.

We are now at the Terminado II stage, Rodgers clearly won’t make it easy by resigning or providing the boardroom with a Leicester sized compensation payment which leaves everyone in a very awkward stand off.

Similar situations occur at every transfer window, there are different moving parts but the dynamics are always that of Team Sheet v Balance Sheet.

Critical Bill explains:

Let’s be honest. The mood around Celtic is akin to a cyclist doped up on EPO awaiting his drugs test results. We’re fearing the worst and we all know why. The transfer window is panning out exactly as some of us thought it might.

This summer is a prime example of how we go about signing players. Its been the case for a while as Celtic refuse to bow to changing winds of football recruitment. Inflation of transfer fees may be a reality but for those running Celtic they are not allowing it to alter their mindset.

Last year we started the season with Maeda, Kyogo and Kuhn. A year on and north of £80M in the bank, we are starting with Maeda, Idah and Yang. I’m struggling for the adjectives to describe how our forward line is disappearing in quality despite the potential resources available to it. Beggars belief, wtf etc.. don’t seem to do it justice.

I write this with less than a month to go before the window closes and we are in the absolutely perverse position of struggling to compete with the likes of clubs in Czechia or mid table Dutch outfits for players. Don’t believe me ? Sparta Prague have put a bigger bid in than we did in January for Sondre Ørjasæter.

We had in interested in winger Isak Jensen at Viborg but we weren’t willing to offer what AZ Alkmaar did and he’s off to the Netherlands. As for clubs such as PSV, Benfica, Club Brugge? Forget them, they’ve long since ridden off way into the distance into how they buy and sell players. PSV has sold two players for £40M and have spent £29M replacing them. That is how professionally run clubs work.

That is the sort of content and analysis that the mainstream knows about but wouldn’t dare to publish. Their loss as more eyeballs, impressions and buyers switch elsewhere for content that is refreshing, honest and independent.

Critical Bill isn’t hovering over his mobile phone waiting for his next steer or news on an exciting loan option to hype up.

Etims used to provide a great daily dose of reality, other commitments have reduced their output but there are others capable of calling things out.

Over on Sentinel Celts, a site that doesn’t even use images never mind adverts there is a decent, engaged community that is experienced enough not to hang onto the thoughts of nonentity pundits.

Not for them interpreting the thoughts of Ross McCormack, Paul Slane or Andy Halliday, they prefer some substance, content that retains the visitor rather than scrolling through for the comments quickly followed by closing the page down.

Joining the dots on how the messages being put out to deflect from the Celtic board without obvious fingerprints, Sentinel Celts explained:

Stories are drip-fed to “friendly” journalists-an oxymoron, particularly in Scotland. To eager bloggers whose existence depends on their close relationship with the sharp-suited schmoozer. The pens are dipped all too willingly into the vitriol and the knives sharpened. The whispering campaign has begun.

Everyone knows that BR was never at any time the choice of Lawwell. First time around, he undermined him from Day One. Rodgers firmly stated that Scott Sinclair was his priority signing. Lawwell dithered as usual, taking until 7th August to sign him-on the morning of our match at Tynecastle! Unperturbed, Sinclair rose off the bench later that day to score our late winner.

As sporting GIRUY are concerned, that’s a peach. He would go on to score 25 times that season in fifty matches. A phenomenal return for a winger. 60 in 160 matches in his three full seasons. Yet Lawwell saw fit to argue with Rodgers’ judgement on the player!

So it continued to the bitter end, as we know. The summer of 2018, the winter of 2019. McGinn and the “Terminado” interview. Lawwell leaks to Chris McLaughlin, of all people! Cosy little chats with selected bloggers-many of whom should have known better, as some of them now acknowledge. Lawwell’s £3m bonus cheque. “Millions of wingers”. And the eventual split, inevitable by the time it arrived in February. 

For Sinclair 2016 read Engels, Idah and Trusty, the targets over the last 12 months.

As soon as Rodgers left for Leicester Johnny Hayes was being pushed into Sinclair’s position in the team, the Irishman is now assistant head coach at the Celtic B team who have five points from three matches in the Lowland League and a goal difference of 9-8.

Hayes, like Forrest is a gem, he gave everything to his spell at Celtic before being thrown out in the summer of 2020 for the dubious talents of Boli Bolingoli and Diego Laxalt, a typical summary of judgement inside Celtic.

Like almost all former players getting a coaching job at one of his former clubs clearly holds a lot of appeal.

The Sentinel Celts article concludes with

We prefer dysfunction. That’s The Glasgow Celtic Way

It would be difficult to summarise the current situation any other way.

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