Michael Nicholson will face the Celtic Fans Collective on Monday.
Ahead of the planned 29 minute silence for the Europa League match against Braga, the Celtic CEO reached out to members of the Collective to break his self imposed silence.
That invite marks an incredible success for the Collective.
It came less than a month after North Curve Celtic first published the open letter that all major fan groups rallied around.
Everyone involved in any way with the Collective can take heart from this development.
Every fan who stood on the concourse at Rugby Park, held up their banner at Firhill, kept silent against Hibs last Saturday – well done.
REAL CHANGE AT CELTIC
This is only the beginning of course.
The Collective was formed to push for real change at Celtic – not just a cuppa in the boardroom and a warm handshake.
And fans have to trust the representatives attending the meeting on Monday that they know how to play this game.
It was interesting that the club did not appear to reach out to the Collective itself but instead chose to contact individual groups within it.
Invites went out to the big three Supporters Associations as well as the Celtic Disabled Supporters Association, Bhoys Celtic, The Green Brigade, The Celtic Trust and CSCs from the North of Ireland,
Organisations that know what they are doing, understand who they are representing and the depth of feeling among their members.
GIVERS V TAKERS
The fact that these representatives attend games among fellow Celtic fans gives them a huge advantage over Michael Nicholson straight away.
One side of the table consistently contribute to Celtic be it financially, vocally and visibly – the other side only withdraw.
The millionaire executives have no concept of sweating over getting match tickets, worrying if the next inevitable season ticket price hike will finally make it unaffordable or getting kettled by the boys in Blue for no reason on the way to a game.
All in the room will be Celtic fans but with completely different experiences of supporting Celtic.
Perhaps the powers that be at Celtic Park couldn’t quite bring themselves to contact the Celtic Fans Collective directly, knowing full well the organisation only came into being as a result of their utter incompetency.
They used the same tactic when they were finally ready to release the Fairhurst Inquiry – send out invites to members of the Collective, but not the Collective itself.
LONG ROAD AHEAD
Progress is going to be slow – but at least it has finally started.
Given their utterly appalling attitude towards having any sort of relationship with us fans, it’s fair to assume the board have not come to this point willingly.
Dragged kicking and screaming would be more appropriate.
I would guess the club’s attitude to Mondays meeting will be along the lines of ‘How little do we need to do here to get this mob buying Europa League Tickets and Larsson watches again?’
Anything more constructive would be a bonus, and a shock.
But the need for change is glaringly obvious.
STRUGGLES ON THE PARK
The team is currently struggling, badly.
The January transfer window is going to have to deliver the quality that was not added in the summer, as well as a replacement for Diazen Maeda, and possibly more.
We can’t afford to go into it with the same shambolic recruitment set up that failed so miserably in the summer.
But one thing is absolutely clear – it is entirely up to the current club regime to deliver what is required, on all fronts.
All of the pressure is on the Celtic board and the executives.
The Celtic Fans Collective will go in there to fight for what the fans want.
But it is not their responsibility to force club employees to deliver a good transfer window, fan engagement, share a long term vision for the club.
Nicholson, Chris McKay and Peter Lawwell should have been doing all these things for years as a matter of course.
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8 Comments
by Dan
Great words to begin an article
“I would guess” which means and shows the article is all about your opinion and it certainly reads that way.
I agree the board have failed in many areas and change is required but change is required on both sides of the fence.
You have pointed out many failings by the board but failed to point out where there are failings on the fans side
Banners and flags being flown at matches along with pyro that cost the club ten of thousands in fines every year
Supporters cramming into areas which they have no tickets for
And the list could go on.
Perhaps in your next article you could write about how you think changes could be most for everyone without a bias
by Editor
Ah Dan Dan, the PLC fan.
You are only going to get uncomfortable reading on here, if you want to read about how wonderful your corporate heroes are head back to the comfort zone of CQN.
Are you getting excited for the Lennon/Maloney/ Wilson management dream team with Marky bhoy returning to head up recruitment?
by Brendan McHugh
Hi Dan
Yes this piece is my opinion.
But unlike the people that run Celtic, I am prepared to put my name to my views.
The need for a bigger standing section is clear to see. The fans presented a proposal for increased standing in the “Celtic end” – the club ignored it.
Loads of enthusiastic young Celtic fans that want to support their team by standing, singing and waving flags – what’s the problem?
As for what goes on in the north curve – dialogue could sort that out. But one party has been in a huff and not willing to speak about anything – the Celtic board.
The banner on Thursday was a credit to the club, in my opinion.
The failings are on the side of the board and executives, in my opinion, and I have no qualms about pointing that out.
Can you tell me any opinion or view that is held by any member of the Celtic board on any subject?
by Che
Stop giving them money they need the fans we don’t need or want them
by Bhoy4life
I predict, that after Mondays meeting, the collective and the board will be further apart, if thats even possible.
There is just no way, that a club full of suits, having shown nothing more than disdain for the fans by their continued silence, are gonna offer up anything that makes them look culpable.
They have already proven themselves utterly out of touch, and nothing will be any different come Tuesday morning.
by McGinley Jim
Jeezo!
When Allan MacDonald became CEO way back in 1999, he stated that he wanted to end the “them and us” relationship between the fans and the PLC board.
It is a situation that has existed for a long time and the PLC do need to address it as well as many other issues.
However, at the same time fan groups do need to recognise the nature of, and the restraints involved with, the PLC structure.
I suspect, but don’t know, that changes within the PLC structure will be forthcoming, and that those changes will also bring changes in terms of business structure and business relationships – including relationships between board and shareholders and the board and fans/customers – the two are different.
Crucial to the whole enterprise is internal reorganisation in some respects and far better communication.
Fan blogs are very accusatory and, at times, unnecessarily personal about people in positions of employment who follow orders from above – and these same people cannot be sacked or simply “replaced” without consequence.
At the same time, the board are obliged to explain certain aspects of PLC policy to shareholders especially – they have a right to know about the future ambitions of the PLC and the plans to take the football club forward.
The board don’t follow recommended best practice re non exec rotation, executive tenure (at times) nor best in class communication.
Annual AGM’s are a statutory minimum, not a recommended means of meeting and communicating.
However, at the same time, until the powers that be properly fund and staff the “management” team working within the PLC structure then those in situ can only do the best they can within any 24 hours.
Personalities also need to be considered. Some people naturally crave the limelight and are assertive. Others prefer to remain in the background and are far more effective there.
Both kinds of individual can be essential and vital in different roles, but all are human beings with families and should not, in my opinion, be publicly vilified.
Decent employees at any level deserve that, and if you are recruiting for top class employees in any role, especially executive roles within a football club, you will find it hard to attract the best talent if there is a risk of them being treated badly, or less than professionally, by fans and shareholders.
Then again, if the PLC/club want to avoid any such situation, they should afford shareholder representatives an opportunity to respectfully question the board and air any grievances – but those grievances should be on business lines and should not be personal.
Finance and financial goals and practices have to be considered and understood in any management situation.
Finally, and uncomfortably, we cannot get away from the fact that this is a PLC.
PLC’s are governed by law and must comply to stock market rules.
It is a structure that is far from perfect and it is a structure designed to serve the needs and wants of the shareholders – especially the largest shareholders.
It is to them that the board are legally and naturally responsible. The board only do what they tell them to or allow them to.
Ultimately, it is the big shareholders who set the agenda and the roadmap.
It is not a structure that is designed to meet the emotional needs of the football fan – Fergus McCann understood that completely.
Allan MacDonald said he wanted to change the relationship between fans and the board.
There have been various CEO’s CFO’s non execs and all sorts of others in the last 26 years but the problem and the issue remains.
Changing the personnel is not the answer – changing the culture, the business practices (to an extent) and lines of communication is.
None of that is necessarily simple or easy. It takes time – and trust.
Just my opinion of course and others who are better informed may well know far more and have far better ideas than me.
I just think there are times when all concerned should stand back and put themselves in the shoes of others from time to time.
No one is perfect, and no one will always make the right decisions or achieve their goals especially where they are forced to rely on third parties like football agents, players and executives from other clubs who have their own agendas.
That is just a fact of life.
Equally, Celtic fans will always support and expect those who run the club to do their best for the football club and those who support it. Any PLC, and those who work for that company, must expect that.
Sorry for the long post.
HH
by Editor
Interesting that this opinion piece has stirred you into your first comment on this site Jim.
Good to see that the story has attracted the apologists for a board that show nothing but utter contempt for those pesky entitled customers.
You can hide behind PLC regulations as much as you like, everything about the club has been shaped by a CEO who was in place for a ridiculous almost 17 year stint, his clone was brought in to keep his seat warm for 15 months before the former CEO returned as Chairman.
If you can find any other PLC that has brought back a former CEO as Chairman after an 18 month break please enlighten us customers.
You are playing the PLC card to suit your agenda, to defend the shameless suits without a grain of ambition other than to finish a point or two clear of their beloved O** F*** business partners.
You might think that it is a great idea to provide a lengthy, balanced defence of your PLC heroes but this tactic only strengthens the resolve of the Collective for a lengthy battle to reform the club and remove those in position to guard against the dirty secrets of 2012 coming to light.
Good try but we can see right through plants like yourself, CQN will be more sympathetic to your agenda.
PLC or not paying £11.75m of money brought in from Season Ticket holders in Corporation Tax sums up a board that hasn’t an idea in its head other than playing the #celticfamily card to extract more cash from fans, we won’t all be dressed head to toe in the last Larsson range, the most recent of many desperate ploys.
by Brendan McHugh
Hi Jim
It seems you know the inner workings of a PLC better than me, I write from the position of an ordinary fan and unashamedly so.
However a PLC is structured and staffed there can be no doubt now that Celtic are failing badly.
Celtic fans are their customers and we are no longer buying what they are trying to sell us.
As for getting personal, well the worst, most vehement criticisms of Michael Nicholson that I’ve heard have never appeared online.
This is the result of him purposefully ignoring us as a whole and treating individual fan groups appallingly .
I read somewhere the best criticism of the current set up at Celtic – A club formed to feed the poor is now being used as a PLC to fleece its working class fans for millions in profits.
However we got here and whatever it takes to change it – it has to be changed completely.