One match does not prove that a club’s entire strategy has failed. But two decades of abject failure, losing to teams that we should be playing off the park, exposes the total incompetence of the Celtic Board.
You don’t need to be a cynic to think that Baur and Hassan were only signed with the virtual guarantee of the Engels fee arriving. It’s the Celtic/Nicholson Way.
The Celtic Academy doesn’t produce footballers, the club doesn’t communicate with anti-establishment fans, the facilities at Celtic Park are from a previous century.
Successful football clubs invest in infrastructure, talent, and long term competitiveness. They build squads capable of thriving in Europe, not merely surviving domestically. They treat profit as a means to an end, not the end itself.
Without some very visible actions it is difficult to see how the Alliance grows in strength.
The tragedy is that McKay, Postecoglou and Trimboli only worked together for 72 days. In that time they provided the spine of five successive SPFL title. A lack of foresight, ambition and ability ensured no progress in Europe during the time since.
There is no way back for Nicholson and Wilson. They can delay the inevitable. But they can’t even hold an AGM. Their CEO hides from club media, he admits that he can’t deal with football agents!
Our job is to try and keep them, try and do our best to keep them. If that’s not possible, naturally we’ll have to try and get replacements in. To replace those players would be a difficult task.
The Recruitment team worked under Paul Tisdale for 15 months. Head of Football Operations is one of many unfilled senior posts at Celtic. It shows.
We may never know if O’Neill was making his feelings know to the board but it shouldn’t take that, along with fan apathy and the impending loss of our talismanic striker from last season to green light an ambitious signing.