Tinker tailor soldier bean counter

Yesterday the Celtic Board doubled down on their contempt for their customers.

It was no surprise that Resolution 11 was voted down.

Like much of the malaise that surrounds the Parkhead club it centres on the all-powerful CEO.

I think that this comment from a Resolution 12 veteran sums it up rather well.

My only glimmer of hope yesterday was when I spoke with a very well-placed source last night.

He is in a position to know what is happening on Planet Dermot and is certain that Desmond has had his people do a “deep dive” into the current Celtic situation.

Last night he stated that process was close to completion and that “individuals are being looked at to take over from Lawwell”.

Obviously, I hope that he is correct in that.

With the passing of the peerless John le Carré, I was reminded of the early days of the Celtic fanzine movement.

Not The View characterised the old Celtic board as the “politburo” and the official club blatt as “Pravda”.

I suppose that casts the Bunnet in the role of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev…

I’m happy to report that I was there at the Parkhead steps in 1994 when that particular Wall came down.

Of course, these days it is a fence…

Writers should always write about what they know and Le Carré wrote about the Cold War shadow world that he knew.

His magnum opus resonated authenticity and it was the perfect antidote to the Tom & Jerry slapstick of the Bond film franchise.

The only high-speed chases in Le Carré’s novels were in the neural pathways of George Smiley.

That stuff is fiendishly difficult to write, and your humble correspondent is currently enmeshed in that literary difficulty.

The object of the Sequel to The Squad will be to change a Jason Bourne type charter to a semi-invalided Smiley.

That is not as easy as it sounds….

What Le Carré tried to do as an intelligence officer during the Cold War to attempt to piece together what was happening in the closed world of the Kremlin.

However, those who seal themselves way are the ultimate losers.

One thing about any Ancien Regime is that they have a fatal disconnect with the ruled.

I think that was shown by the stage-managed remotely held event yesterday.

For the avoidance of doubt, the current unrest isn’t to do with the defeat to Ross County; rather, it is a potential insurgency that has been building for several years.

Only the Rodgers Interregnum showed a degree of ambition.

The result was a period of unparalleled domestic dominance on the field of play.

Sadly, since February 2019 the club has seen the reinstatement of the untitled director of football.

Consequently, the managed decline has restarted, and that’s what has prompted a new generation of Tims to take to the car park on Kerrydale Street.

Yesterday was probably the last chance to avoid a serious rupture between fans and the board.

This will not end well.

18 thoughts on “Tinker tailor soldier bean counter”

  1. More than 3 times the population of Ireland voted in rejection of the EU in the UK.
    The vast majority of which did so without a whiff of the Right Wing nonsense you and others seem to apply to those who voted Brexit.
    I sometimes get the impression you would love to see the UK on its uppers Economically Phil?
    I find this rather confusing from someone who claims to have the feelings of others at the forefront of their thinking.
    Can you imagine the devastation a collapsed Economy would have on an Island with a population over times the size of Ireland?
    Sure there are a few 100,000 or so absolute zoomers who reside on these shores ,who as you say are racist and bigoted to the hilt?
    The vast majority of people like those who reside on Ireland are just ordinary folk living ordinary lives in the most trying of times.
    I personally want all Countries to prosper,I want all kids to have a healthy stress free upbringing but what I don’t want and I reject it outright is to be controlled from afar by a Capitalist Regime which is unaccountable to those families.

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  2. Wasn’t neil lennon on a yellow card after rangers2 beat us? Now your source is telling us something else we might want while we are still angry? But with no absolute commitment? Like the way freemasons speak? Dance around the issue without actually saying what needs said-just infer what could possibly happen maybe? You should write horoscopes Phil

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  3. Very predictable. In essence money making “Old Firm” fixtures outweighed the need for a principled stance, espdcially from a CEO who is famed for his own financial incentives.

    Fergus would have had them all running for the hills.

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  4. I couldn’t agree more with you on John Le Carre, I’m an enormous fan of his novels, and the BBC adaptations of Tinker Tailor and Smiley’s People was television drama at it’s best, aided by a peerless performance by Sir Alec Guinness.

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  5. Managed decline may be an optimistic interpretation with Brexit having grave consequences for player acquisition. Lennon could hardly be accused of improving players we already have by his coaching methods either. Anyway Duffy improved on Sunday. Could this have something to do with his flank being covered by Ajer rather than a diminutive ball-chaser? Soro looked like Jan Wouters compared to Brown. Roll on Sunday and another tactical footballing master class and team selection

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  6. I posted on here… a few months ago…that I would not be renewing my ST….of very long standing… because of the Board’s disgraceful stance on Res.12…and I received a response from someone who basically told me to go away…and leave it to real supporters to back the Club.
    Well if you’re reading this…I would dearly love to know your thoughts now.
    I’ll repeat what I and countless others have said about this…
    The way our Board has handled this is shameful…and the support needs to demonstrate its feelings on the matter.
    This should not be allowed to go away.

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  7. The Celtic board is complicit in the five way agreement and letting sevco claim titles and ignore FFP. Its all a business decision.

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  8. My take on the AGM as watched online;

    1 Both Lawwell and Bankier looked stressed out. Neil Lennon looked better – at least by comparison.

    2 This was the first time in recent years that the Desmond family was represented in person, by Ross Desmond. Worth noting.

    3 The mutual backslapping by the top trio was hard to take in good times. Today it is grotesque. Lawwell is Lennon’s boss; Bankier

    is Lawwell’s boss. At least, that is how it is in a properly run outfit.

    4 The comment about £35 million being spent will come back to haunt Lawwell in particular. When so much has been spent, why is

    there so little to see for it ?

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  9. I wonder how the buffoons on the Celtic board will try to sell season tickets for 2021/22.
    The ten is still possible but highly unlikely, only sevco can blow it now. A defeat at ibrox will cement it.
    The accountability in the business studies courses will have to be rewritten. A nearly nine year old company as blown over £80 million for their football team to have a very serious position of attaining there first senior trophy.
    The shares are about worthless due to total dilution. Money is due to other clubs, taxman and vatman and paye yet nothing is said or done.
    They have complete support from the masons in the black, sfa and the media. Just to make sure.

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  10. There was a comment on the radio before the Killie game, Celtic had a bench full of top players, Enough bar two, for a full team, a team that on paper would beat any team in the league bar Sevco.
    This is where the problems lie, Paying players huge wages to sit on the bench in the off chance Celtic get a run in the Champions league.
    Winning this league should have been a doddle for Celtic and only Lennon’s miss handling of players and tactics caused their demise. Lennon was great when there was no competition, when Sevco were down. He is NOT a great manager, this is a simple fact, certainly not good enough for Celtic.
    However there is a fly in the ointment for the board. Why pay these top players and a great manager to win a league my granny could win, with the resources available.( on the off chance of a run in the Champs league? )
    Why stir the excrement and lose money when they know bigotry sells season tickets? The rivalry with Sevco is what keeps the cash flowing, when Sevco were down Celtic’s bottom line was also down.
    Therefore why rock the boat with res 12/11?
    Take a step back and look at Celtic, not as a football club but as a money making business and it’s easy to see what drives the board.
    Yes , yes I know, they are nothing without fans, but how many are waiting to snap up season tickets, should a few disgruntled fans decide res 12/11 is enough for them to stop buying their books?
    The board know there are enough fans waiting in the wings they can afford to piss off some.
    It’s time to take it on the chin ( as many clubs have to when Celtic are the opposition ) I mean how many clubs can compete with a team, whose resource can put 9 on a bench that are capable of winning every game?
    Celtic fans have had it too good for too long they forget what it means to lose.

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  11. You’re right about Le Carre: peerless. I use audio books myself and when you hear Micheal Jayston playing the various parts, you get a greater appreciation of Le Carre’s ear for dialogue. You’re also right about the other stuff as well.

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  12. Agreed: the Board continued to misjudge the supporters’ mood at the AGM.
    The true levels of frustration / mistrust might be revealed in the summer.

    I wouldn’t agree that DD has the answer to PL. DD has – so far – left the CEO in post for 17 [seventeen] years.

    Based on that record, it would seem likely that DD would either nominate a family member, or another ‘PL-type’, to simply continue to do his bidding.

    Following the NL permanent appointment:
    why would anyone now expect a wide ranging and thorough recruitment process to objectively identify the best person for the CEO role…?

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  13. How Ironic it is in this Season of all Seasons that name Gorbachev should pop up?
    Given that the subjects have been demanding a restructuring of the Board whilst Lenny has been unable to catch the Bear by deploying a fit Perastroikas all Season.

    #Glesnost

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  14. Phil I think you’re wrong about Lawwell by constantly casting him as the panto villain. Lawwell cant fart without asking Desmonds permission. As far as resolution 12 goes, Desmond is on record as saying what a great and proud team Rangers are. It’s Desmond who wants to hang onto the old firm tag because of the money it means to him.

    Reply

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