How Michael Nicholson united the fractured Celtic support

The ineptitude of Michael Nicholson over the summer has managed to manifest his worst nightmare. A united, motivated Celtic support.

The three match suspended ban on the Green Brigade at the start of the season was swiftly followed by a draconian stadium lockdown. Fans, all fans were shocked by the new stadium layout that they discovered at the Friday night League Cup game against Falkirk, a match outside the Season Ticket.

All designed to isolate, both physically and ideologically, the Green Brigade.

If Nicholson had the sense to throw the wider fanbase a few crumbs of comfort in the transfer window, he might have got away with it but of course he didn’t. He is a ‘leading sports lawyer’ not a leader, someone totally detached from the Celtic support with no need to engage or foster relations with the customers.

And now a truly unprecedented number of Celtic supporters have rallied around a bold statement of intent issued by the North Curve Celtic.

In less than 24 hours, an additional 160 CSCs and 29 Fan Media & Online platforms have signed the Open Letter to Celtic FC.

The signatories represent tens of thousands of Celtic supporters from around the world.

We urge Celtic FC to respond to the letter as a matter of urgency pic.twitter.com/39D9PX1W2o

— North Curve Celtic (@NCCeltic) September 4, 2025

Old and new, traditional supporters clubs, podcasts, websites and others. Groups with a variety of shades of opinion but drawn together by a succession of issues culminating in the carnage created by Nicholson’s transfer window activities.

The time for silence is now over, the pressure is too great. It isn’t a small rump of dissidents, fanatics, ultras or agitators, it is the biggest ever united voice of Celtic supporters.

Those that attend matches and those that follow in other ways, the volume of supporters that attracts firms such as Adidas to be associated with Celtic, it certainly isn’t the charm and warmth that comes from the Celtic boardroom.

And with Bhoys Celtic and the Green Brigade on board, some of the clubs most vociferous and motivated fans will be on the front line of the protest.

What the North Curve statement demanded is nothing more than any fans should expect as par for the course from the club.

Stop hiding.

Tell us what the plan is, if it exists.

Have you still nothing to say about Police Scotland amassing on London Road and detaining innocent fans in quite disgraceful circumstances?

No update on the “fan survey” you conducted?

Or are just scared to admit what the fans told you – increase the standing section at Celtic Park and let thousands of our young supporters back the team as vociferously as the two sections of Ultras already do.

And there is no hiding place from the shocking summer transfer window

Kyogo was sold in January and not replaced, Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah were then sold off in the summer and not replaced. Other football clubs were openly mocking the shambolic way Celtic tried to do “business”. The Celtic Way isn’t the modern way, deals are struck, relations built up, across Europe Celtic now has a reputation that clubs and agents would rather avoid working with.

The list of faults and failings is lengthy. Players are sent packing to sign for other clubs only to be recalled at the last minute. Ask Yang Hyun-jun how motivated he feels, get Marco Tilio to talk through his move to Rapid Vienna. No-one does Non Disclosure Agreements quite like Celtic, led by Sports Lawyer Nicholson.

This is not what fans pay millions of pounds into the club every year for. Thousands of fans are paying £700-800 a season for 19 SPFL matches, many family groups are paying in and around £2,000 just to watch the matches, season by season the price rises surpasses the rate of inflation with no obvious improvement on the pitch.

Generating a £20m surplus over the summer to weaken the team requires explanations. This is not what the manager and club captain asked for in recent press conferences. It looks very much like asset stripping, to boost an already bulging bank account.

The fans want to see that money out on the pitch, and it’s our money that the board are hoarding for reasons unknown. The 25/26 Corporation Tax bill will surpass the highest fee paid for any player.

Cancellations of the home ticket cup scheme are spreading, boycotts of the Europa League tickets package are widely being discussed. The money men at Celtic brought this on themselves with their penny pinching and disgraceful attitude towards supporters. The fans have had enough and are united in demanding answers.

There is no hiding place now.

The CEO of a faceless grey corporation would have made more public statements than Michael Nicholson over the past two years. He is in charge of a world famous football club, with hundreds of thousands of supporters, 60,000 of which he faces twice every month.

Celtic have contracts with some of the biggest media organisations in the world. Not to mention vibrant fan media across all platforms. And he has nothing to say about anything.

Time is up, the fans are at the door and they are demanding answers, as a minimum. The questions posed by the North Curve are perfectly reasonable.

We are not giving up.

NOTE: After 25 years in charge of Spurs Daniel Levy is finally stepping down as Executive Chairman.

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