The Celtic Fans Collective arrived at exactly the right moment.
Early momentum is easy. The board were rattled. Wins came. I backed them then. I back the principle now. But what have you done for me lately?
When Celtic lost a league game with a tennis ball protest live on Sky, Brendan Rodgers didn’t point fingers. He said the fans are the heartbeat of the club, it’s their life, and they want to see the club being the best it can be. Full stop.
Martin O’Neill? He said that anybody who thought the Stuttgart protest was a good idea needed their heads examining. One man understood who he was working for. The other told you exactly whose side he was on.
So what did the Collective do? They ran from it. Couldn’t claim it. Couldn’t stand behind the most effective act of direct action this movement has produced. Distanced themselves publicly while the board and their media allies hung it round their neck anyway.
They got the punishment without the conviction. And still apologised.
But that’s not really the point. Stuttgart was ours. Those were your people. Our protest.
COLLECTIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE?
Instead, the Collective drew a line between themselves and the support that actually acted.
Us and them. And they picked the wrong side.
Instead of hitting the board squarely in their weakest spot – their EGOs – on the big UEFA stage, knockout tie with the world watching, they picked a low-stakes game. Why? Because they were scared. That thread alone exposes the weakness, the lack of guts.
Prior to the Europa League match, they announced boycott of the Scottish Cup game against Dundee at home — after a lot of cuddling and soothing pats on the back, they have to protect the feelings of the wider Celtic family.
I know that Kerrydale Street is about 20 guys who write players off immediately and know it all but not really, they are a small sample of insufferable bell ends.
They exist in a snide wee echo chamber that should echo back – shut it and sit doon. These people moaned and moaned with mothers milk fresh on their breath, that it was outrageous to boycott the hoops on cold, February Saturday night cup game at home v Dundee, even some of ACSOM managed to keep their snouts out of the trough for that one.
— it was so easy an action it seemed, not really a choice. Guess what? The collective allowed it – each to their own was the message.
The Collective isn’t a protest movement, it’s more akin to an administration. A very slow one, becoming more useless with each passing day, you don’t care about engagement, 2 guys on the steering group look in the mirrors and see our CEO and CFO looking back, 4 of them are doing nothing of merit.
Hold on! I’ve seen this episode!
Seeing as he has time to appear on tv to discuss the issues in the Labour Party, hopefully Brian Wilson finds time to meet this week and move things forward with resolving the issues at Celtic.
— Michael V (@MikeMarino67) February 8, 2026
POLITICAL GAINS FOR BRIAN WILSON
If you type in the Fans Collective into Google search – one of your key activities is organising meetings!! It’s not just me that’s noticing the meetings bollocks.
Brian Wilson plays you like a fiddle. Surely people can see what I see here?
The collective cannot rely on intermediaries or politicking—action is the only lever that works.
Centrist moderation is counterproductive to the greater good. Weakness. Pliability. Malleability.
Also, The Green Brigade are needed — not in the stadium, but in the trenches. Activism. Advocacy. Justice seeking. Right side of history.
The Collective opened themselves to patter like, “this is a Green Brigade thing” or “this is ultras.” Weak messaging damages the whole thing. No colour, no urgency. No noise.
Soon it will be Summer transfer window. Board’s perfect window. Hope in the air, gullibility, naivety — they feast on it.
Now we are in a title run-in. Exciting. Chaotic. But it changes nothing. If we win the league, wonderful. Savour it. If not, makes no difference.
Everything rises or falls on CEO and CFO being emptied. The rest is distraction.
The Collective are going nowhere fast. Months wasted. Home games wasted. European stage games slipped away without a sniff except from the provisional wing of the protest. Collective have fear in the steering groups eyes. Opportunities squandered.
I no longer have my name in that shower of meeting makers.
They are Thelma and Louis, steering the group off a cliff.
CEO and CFO have got to go.
Disband the Collective.
Until then, the unpersons remain unpersons.
EDITOR:
This opinion piece is exactly that. The view of Trough Watcher, I disagree with it. In a very short time the Celtic Fans Collective has achieved an awful lot. Not everything that they would want but no one ever thought Celtic would be a quick fix.
To have brought together 400 different Celtic groupings is an awesome achievement. Losing the Affiliation and ACSOM is par for the course, these things happen.
It is a Collective, carrying a variety of viewpoints but all believing that Celtic should be in a far better place than they currently are. It requires a large amount of diplomacy to carry so many different groups. Going for real hard- line action so soon could lose a lot of backing.
NOT ANOTHER PENNY has been an outstanding success. It has hit the club in the only place that matters and forced board members into reluctantly meeting with anti-establishment fans. And it forced a free loading Chairman into retirement.
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11 Comments
by john
You sound like a hun , worried that we win the league, and the more disruptive you can cause the fans the better chance your hun team have, so celtic suppirters suppirt your team, win the league and see what summer brings
by Chris
Its fannys like you John that the board must piss themselves laughing at.
by Trough Watcher
The ultimate insult ‘i sound like a hun’ – jesus man. Thats some take.
John I’ll tell you what, the email below is my mail box for choobs and fans, it sits empty, funny though i have plenty of choobs following, defo no fans.
donpachoherrera@proton.me
Email me and we can meet for coffee and I’ll hear why I am a hun and I’ll show you why I am not.
Thanks for enjoying the article that has no subtext, it isnt ambiguous. So only a thick cunt like you can misunderstand this.
Go read the Sun. Thats your level you tosser .
by Pablo
Ffs I’m sick of all this bollocks
Not a penny more will work
Boycott the games that will work
But like with anything worth having it will take effort and sacrifice
Meetings and fancy statements??
That’s their game
by Stevie
Can’t agree the Accounts tell us there is an impact on sales.
Not
Another
Penny
We’ll all fight in our own way.
by Trough Watcher
Stevie
Appreciate thr comment but you are missing the whole point of what I said.
Not another oenny is a victory and it’s set in, ongoing nothing has to change there.
But that has to be one pillar that we stand on, as we progress and build on that success. I would use ‘anchor’ from which we build. But I reaslised et couldnt build being connected to an …oh
The foundation kf the movement is built. Set in stone. No need to look back and massage egos.
The only thing any one should be asking those with the soap box on the steering group….how High we building this. Relentless, consistent, fill every possible zone with noise and confusion. Dont allow the board time to wheel old man Marley out to save the day.
Collective should immediately announce they will no longer engage with a lame duck board until the problems who created this are removed
CEO and CFO
And it’s no time to rest onwards.
Peter Lawwell resigned early. The collective done what? Usual fuck all
No harm to them but they have shown a weakness and malleability that means all future situations are at risk of the whatever way the wind blows out of Brian Wilson’s mouth.
Peace
HH
by Trough Watcher
Pablo
Whilst you get to a good point that is the crux of my piece. Whether your sick of their bollocks or mine i don’t know
Cheers
by Trough Watcher
FYI
Some punctuation is malformed and some orphaned completely.
This is on me because it seems the copy and paste across platform from emails to document has taken some liberties.
There are a few out of place headers and hyphens. I will get the corrections over to Joe and hopefully can be updated.
The actually detail is still absolutely fine it’s just it’s a bit scabby and Im no happy with that part of it.
Cheers
HH
by Trough Watcher
Last point as I left my email above for any folk who are disenfranchised by the very folk that are ahem…protesting the same type of behaviour. Hilarious.
I’m not against the collective at all, the principles are what the majority want, ffs ready all my articles. Im not some white elites trying to moderate and suppress noise, a want more and regularly. Some noise even!! I’m against the collective not actually being inclusive, not using the platform they have been lucky to get, these guys have the clubs future possibilities within their remit, and are utterly weak as piss at doing anything with the chance in their hands.
It’s not about egos like in the steering group.
Because of that, there’s room for a separate, decentralised network focused purely on direct action, where the message can’t fail or get buried.
The collective had the ability to mobilise thousands every week, live on tv every away game, euro football, free publicity. Utterly pissed it away. Listening to people who wouldn’t be listened to by any other c**t. ‘Dont like it son, go sit doon the adults are talking’ on we go. Na need to protect feelings n Celtic family innit
And to have only had a hibs silence, late walk in I think and the much maligned Bhoycot. Or should it be called ‘Bhoys Cot’ cos yeez are all greeting faced weans ‘wint sometime think of the put upon millionaires from America out there olaying for us. Back the team’ Hahahaha incredible
Big game tmrw live on tv.
No many left. Will they be heard? Will they mobilise the masses
Ayyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeee right ye are
by Dan
The Collective…… mmmm
22 leaders in a pack, sounds like the SNP doesnt it. No one knows who is in charge, who is leading maybe its wee Nic and her man.
Representing 400 supporters groups, Really? Take an average of 40 supporters per group gives them 16000 supporters,, how many of these individuals actually agreed that the Collective should represent them? Probably not a lot.
However with that volume why have they never rallied the 16000 to protest outside of Celtic Park on a match day? Ill tell you why because they havent a clue. Long term their not a penny more will hurt the club however millions will still be spent on the merchandise.
Easy way for all of these people to protest is refuse to renew their season tickets if they have one and then true supporters of Celtic Can take their olaces to watch the best club in Scotland the. Team that have won more trophies than anyone and will continue to do so without the 16000🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 that call themselves the Collective
by Editor
The Collective are much more representative than you and your happy clapping mates over at Celtic Thick News.
Still nothing of interest in that dinosaur of a website.
You are as popular here as your O** F*** heroes Lawwell, Nicholson and Wilson.
Complete Joke Figures, utterly detested.