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More Fake News for Celtic fans from the Daily Record

Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson is apparently ‘set to break cover’ according to a report in the Daily Record.

To most people that claim would relate to an interview, statement or even a comment but the Glasgow based publisher has another interpretation of breaking cover.

Almost any activity can be viewed as breaking cover at the Record, in this case a man will be going to work and will have contact with a colleague who will inform him of emails.

When print circulation is below 40,000 and dropping at 18% year on year the Record is utterly desperate to grab any sort of digital audience regardless of the content and accuracy.

Typically the Record is years behind the digital curve. Chasing clicks is at least a decade out of date, advertisers are after engagement, impressions, they want their messages and logos alongside engaging content, not a page that is very likely to be closed down within 10 seconds after the reader has realised that they have been duped again.

The guts of the Record story is:

Taylor confirmed: “Michael is aware of all the letters/statements from supporters group and he will be seeing them personally.

“With regards to supporters sending in emails, all have/will be collated and sent to his PA.”

So the £1m a year CEO will be made aware of emails by his Personal Assistant. And the Record wonders why circulation and web traffic is falling at the same rate as their credibility, which was never a selling point.

Two days earlier we had another whopper from the Record, this story was around Celtic’s Annual Report which will be published at some point this month and contain some dishwater comments from Nicholson and Chairman Peter Lawwell.

The Record was also toying with the rumour that Nicholson could be interviewed by Sky Sports News today- just reading over that suggestion it is impossible not to laugh.

There is as much chance of Lawwell and Dermot Desmond facing off in the centre circle of a darts contest wearing mankinis at Celtic’s Europa League matches to boost ticket sales. The Sky Sports interview won’t be happening.

Having lived for a decade inside the protective Celtic corporate bubble avoiding any contact with reality, the outside world would come as a shock to the system for a man described as a leading Sports Lawyer.

There is very little demand for any type of sports lawyer in Scotland, when Brendan Rodgers appealed against a touchline suspension Celtic body-swerved their in-house expert to pay Nick de Marco KC to represent their manager at Hampden.

Having given Nicholson and corporate Celtic such an easy time of it down the years the Record has no grasp of the level of resentment that has been built up to the Celtic board over a variety of issues.

Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson, Celtic, Academy, Rodgers

What happened in 2012 and the stripping of titles was never raised despite a black and white case, given free reign towards a regular Champions League place, on the park Celtic are little different today to where they were a decade ago.

Nicholson will point and smile at the bank balance but a look at the squad registered with UEFA for the Europa League tells a different story,

As recently as November Celtic drew 1-1 at home with Club Brugge, a very decent result even if their opponents play their home matches in a stadium that holds just 29,000 fans. If Celtic were to have a rematch with Brugge this season the outcome would be frightening.

Without any sporting experience other than from Chairman Lawwell Nicholson is a fish out of water in footballing circles.

While wholly misplaced Lawwell is cocky and full of his own importance, qualities that you need when dealing with footballers, agents and other CEO’s also driven by their bonus structure. Nicholson is quiet, naturally shy and will never front up on anything, something of a drawback when decision making and leadership skills are the essential qualities for the job.

Celtic have got one more day of silence to get through then they can relax a little over the weekend- while fan pressure grows and grows, started by the Green Brigade/North Curve their Wednesday statement has struck a nerve with disillusioned supporters, the young team are well connected and supporters, they have more depth to them than some risky Tifos and chants.

160 additional supporters clubs in 24 hours, 29 media outlets while hundreds of Season Ticket holders are cancelling the Home Ticket Scheme with every post from the club greeted with degrees of hostility on social media.

Clearly a club like no other, where they appear to have given up on even spinning deflection lines to their network of messengers.

In seven days time Rodgers will speak to the media, it is unlikely that the playing conditions at Rugby Park will lead the questioning, meanwhile Nicholson will hope to sit it out and hope that the current crisis blows over with news from Ibrox.

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