Back in the day when fans were allowed inside football grounds, the Green Brigade often caused problems with their displays.
In my opinion, some of them were, inspired and breath-taking.
However, others were PR own goals on a par with the Dubai trip.
Now they have turned the shiny new Celtic Way into a venue for a rebellious art form.
Significantly, the Ancien Regime in the Parkhead board room has no answer to the core message of the Green Brigade.
Consequently, it is undeniable that there is a disconnect between those in positions of power at Celtic and the supporters.
The early 1990s was another time.
On a Saturday, I turned up at Parkhead, paid at the turnstile and leaned against a crush barrier watching my team.
When Matt McGlone and the other lads said to instead stand in the car park top affect change, I joined the rebellion.
It was a very public way of saying that the Biscuit Tin board would not get another penny until there was real change at the club.
Now, all is changed.
Celtic are controlled, if not owned, by a genuine billionaire.
For the avoidance of doubt, that’s someone who has assets or a net worth of at least one billion.
One connection back to the days of the Fergus McCann takeover is financial expert David Low.
He is now in a leadership position at the Celtic Trust.
It appears to me to be the only viable vehicle for finally having the fans’ view in the boardroom.
Sadly, there are no shortage of examples of poor judgement by this largely anonymous Celtic board.
The Resolution 11 issue is something where the Ancien Regime can be held to account.
For the uninitiated here is some quick background:
At last AGM Celtic said Res 12 was unnecessary because Celtic would engage with relevant authorities on the issue of failing to apply their rules when the SFA abandoned their judicial investigation into 2011 noncompliance with UEFA FFP by old Rangers.
The shareholder’s statement reported under Res11 basically said rules have to be followed or football is no longer a game.
A statement to that effect was reported on the AGM 2020 notice under Resolution 11, so whilst Resolution 12 adjourned at the 2013 AGM, which asked UEFA to investigate noncompliance, was voted against by Celtic at 2020 AGM, the basis for doing that, i.e. that Celtic would engage etc. is reported under Resolution 11 in AGM papers. Seeing the issue under the Res12 label has caused confusion, and that is down to how Celtic technically removed Res12 2013 from future AGM agendas by promising to engage with relevant authorities (the SFA) on the non-application of their rules.
Holding the SFA to their word by engaging with them is now the issue and having cleared the confusion the CST appreciate the value in doing that, in effect holding Celtic to account to hold the SFA to account as stated under Res11 in AGM notice.
So Res12 is dead, long live Res11!
It is vital to keep the pressure on Celtic to in turn pressurise the SFA.
Moreover, it was good to learn late last night that the Celtic Trust will be holding the board to account on this issue.
To borrow a term from the Brexit negotiations, this is about ensuring a level playing field.
The Murray years at Ibrox was all about the game being rigged for one brand.
Of course, the people at Celtic should have been across this from Day One.
Had the Bunnet been in the building, then litigation was a stick on.
Sadly, the current board of directors are an amorphous blob of empty grey suits.
They have done nothing about the decade of EBT cheating by Rangers, and they’ve allowed the CEO to create a personal fiefdom.
Consequently, this Celtic regime was always going to crash and burn, and it has done so in the most historic of seasons.
The need for radical change throughout the Parkhead club is now more apparent than when I was standing in the car park in 1994.
I fully realise that it wasn’t such a sacrifice to make, denying myself the privilege of watching Wayne Biggins miss yet another sitter!
Overall, I think many in the Celtic tribe have reached a tipping point with the folk in the boardroom and merely changing the manager will not suffice.
I suppose this is what “Celts For Change” looks like in the digital age.
Still, there is always room for a good banner!
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If and when Sevco close in on their first trophy…I will await with great interest to see how the Tabloids and their so called
” journalists ” address the situation.
Will it be sycophantic congratulations on ” winning the 55 “…which most sensible people know it can’t be ?
Or will honesty and integrity prevail…and it will be pointed out that this is the new club’s first ever major success ?
Can’t wait to find out.
Where to begin…?
Who thought it was a good idea for Mr. Lawwell to address the support recently ?
Or allow Neil Lennon to give a disastrous Press conference not long after…?
Or indeed …Get Leigh Griffiths to come on and tell the support how unfair they were being to Lenny and the Board…That was a real dose of hypocrisy…but to be expected.
All roads, for the foregoing, lead back to someone…and they should be removed from their post immediately.
Our handling of PR goes from shocking to totally unacceptable…end of.
As for Res12 ( 11 ) …I sleep a lot easier knowing that I did, in my own way, show my contempt for how the Club has handled this…by not renewing my ST….Oh and I have to credit my Grandson as well…He also refused to take up on it…Thanks Connor.
It will be interesting, however, to see what the “Faithful through and through brigade” does.
It’s also obvious, that in order to stop the Hans Christian Anderson version of “Going for 55 “coming to fruition….action needs to be taken soon. I was not aware that the Trust have re-visited this Phil…can you expand ?
Finally…As I made my way to the wee telly room to watch the game last night…I asked my wife what her plans were…
She said that she was going to the dining room ( that I had painted yesterday morning ) to watch the paint dry.
At full time…I wished I had joined her.
Good piece Phil
As they say , all power corrupts, and i think whereas Mr Lawwell was certainly a go getting CEO at one time, complacency has took its toll across all levels of celtic PLC and they now hold the fans in open contempt whilst berating them at every turn as being entitled. i think mr lawwell briefing against our fans in the daily record recently told a 1000 truths
i am still honestly unsure whether this was the gameplan once rangers mark1 were liquidated as the thinking was to do anything to help the brand old firm, which of course died alongside the original club , or if it was making a deal with the devil at the start of the new club venture and this backfired as sevco took the initiative in their clique and never looked back
and we still hire our buses from parks of hamilton
How many times does it take before you understand? You often say follow the money, well this is true of res 11/12. Celtic made money while Rangers cheated. The thrived on the bigotry and as long as the money rolled in, they turned a blind eye. They also had a big hand in the 5 way agreement. The boardrooms of both clubs are much, much closer than the fans would like, and no matter how much the fans moan, it’s all about the money.
As for a season ticket boycott, Is there a waiting list? I would suggest that, if whose who have one boycott, five more stand to take up their tickets. The board doesn’t give a sook about the fans as long as the money rolls in and share holders make a profit.
I remember an old friend of the other persuasion when we stopped their ten, saying “I don’t know why they didn’t spend every last penny, to beat Jansen’s team. Think of the legacy that would have been.” Putting everything else about the cheating years to one side, think of the legacy. Lennon, Lawwell and Co … your legacy isn’t 4 trebles, it’s that you lost the ten.
Transfermarkt is reporting the fee for Jeremie Frimpong as €11m:
https://www.transfermarkt.com/jeremie-frimpong/profil/spieler/484547
Nobody wants any the SEVCO Chancers at any price. Can they survive to end of season? Buying clubs know SEVCO are operating on fumes.
Are SEVCO uefa FFP Compliant? Because they have been non compliant for most of their nine years of life and the SFA knows it. Buying wins on debt is not sporting integrity.
Celtic buy at £300k and sell at €11m. That’s killing TRFC off the park. But it doesn’t buy Lawwell or Lennon good will on the loss of TEN.
Lennon blew 8 easy points in January. Sevco have not been impressive at all. In my view scratching lucky wins. They don’t look like Champions.
The Board’s inaction on tax evasion cheating by old RFC has bought them no goodwill. 13 cups and titles were cheated, essentially from Celtic, whom came second in all competitions.
Consequently when there’s a performance crisis there is no sympathy for the Majority Shareholder (yes you are) and his cowardly board.
Scottish football is either a rules based, level playing field sport, where sporting integrity prevails or it’s a bent mafia run corruption, a racket, an anti-trust crime for the enrichment of a few.
Lawwell has been paid handsomely since 2012 to deliver the RFC cover up and the new TRFC continuation lie with cheated historic titles. Delivering that took all his energy and he lost sight of ten in a row, which was second priority.
Peter Lawwell delivered 13 cheated cups and titles (proven in the Supreme Court, London) for TRFC but didn’t deliver ten in a row for Celtic.
I seldom comment here.
The Petition to remove Lawwell and more should be found here:
http://chng.it/wxbNHFjJ
The status quo is NOT acceptable.
Many Celtic FC supporters know this but are apathetic and hence the Lawwell remains.
Me? I’d like to see his “remains” arrive and then be introduced to a sewer, wherein he belongs,
dead or alive.
Kennedy, Lennon and ‘new’boy’ Strachan……ALL out.
To quote the blog’s writer, a book I have had since publication, “Downfall” describes the hun cheats +++++.
What about Catholicism and Masonry: “How I led Celtic Supporters”……..up the garden path? and laughed at their pathetic “Downfall”. Peter T Lawwell with help from David Cunningham King and Martin Bain.
Fiction? Who knows?
If fans had been back in the stadiums from season start – what would the landscape look like at CFC today?
Would PL and NL have still been in their roles even at Christmas time…?
Other than a soft – yet still unconvincing – in-house video with PL, and an ill judged presser from NL,
there has been no meaningful dialogue between the club and the fans.
The club leaked its ‘Review update’ to the SMSM – the cowards couldn’t even deliver a proper update via a statement!
The fans have to revert to banners: this latest one is 100% spot on.
PL and the rest of the Board should be embarrassed… but they probably won’t… 🙂
The problem you have is Celtic is no longer just a Club but a Corporate entity and looks upon its “Support” as mere customers paying for a product.
One of many products now for sale I may add.
They (Those who control Celtic) have absolutely no connection to the concept of “football without fans being nothing”.
As for the absentee landlord being a Billionaire (several times over) ? This means hee haw if said Billionaire has no interest in sinking money into what is in reality his train set.
Celtic is a nothing but Golf Course brag for Mr Desmond and the only time he seems to take any interest whatsoever in the Clumpany is when the flack comes his way or the Books fail to balance in his favour.
If it is true change and a return to a Club ethos where fans/supporters really are to be taken more seriously other than bums on seats and a plus on receipts then there needs to be massive change at Celtic.
The German 50+1 model of Fan Ownership is the only way to GUARANTEE Supporters and emotional investors get a proper say in the direction Celtic should be going in.
For it has become abundantly clear that the direction or course taken by the PLC has year on year taken it further away from the place most Supporters want it to be.
That is a Football Club with a strong emphasis on Charity.
Fergus made £31m in 5 years at Celtic, that was the catalyst for the likes of DD and Investors getting involved.
It should come as no surprise that the Current Board make every decision based purely on a financial basis.
This is what they are,all they do is tie a scarf round it to make it seem more acceptable to fans.
They buy cheap,sell high and pray for CL riches to boost the dividend ends and Bonus culture in place.
If you truly want Celtic to change then first and foremost you must change Celtic.
If you don’t then it will be more of the same.
Fc not Plc.
It could be worse, on the other side of the city the fans who let their club die think signing an injury-prone player with a handful of decent games and two goals represents ambition.
While it shouldn’t excuse laww and Desmond I still think the team who play at ibrox these days could yet implode.
If yer big pal Peter is to blame, for what is going on at Celtic park at the moment, then surely it is right to credit him with the 14 untainted titles the 9 untainted Scottish cups and 7 untainted League Cups won during his tenure, not forgetting 4 successive trebles. To me allowing Craig Gordon to leave,before we knew about FF, signing Duffy, and Forest getting injured, have had a Pivotal impact on our season. That, and no crowds have helped them more, due to their players not having top grade mentality to deal with them, yes an unprecedented season indeed. We have made mistakes no doubt, in every department.However as Tommy Burns always used to say, it will snow again.We need to be bigger and take it on the chin, and realise we will be in a very strong position in the next few years, to get back to the top yet again. If Fergus was here he would actually be very impressed with the prudence/success in the way the club is being run.Not as convinced as you that he would be all over the Res 12 thing. I never booed Fergus at the unfurling of the league flag by the way, did you ? Always, always be careful for what you wish for.
When we do eventually get this clear out sorted,we have to install people who WILL stand up to the SFA and do what’s right,ie.sticking to the rules without ANY TEAM having preference or favouritism in any manner at all.
PL’s integrity has long ago left Paradise,my only wish is that he’d went with it.His inaction over Res.11/12 proves that he shouldn’t be in the position any longer,this season being his last.
DEFO END OF STORY.
This cannot be rushed in anyway way whatsoever,to rush at this juncture would be wrong in so many ways.This has to happen correctly in the summer,or sooner if possible.At the very least we should have all the pieces ready to be installed at seasons end.’The Sqaud’ can then set about familiarising themselves with each other’s style of play and skills.
Essentially,we must come back and win the title next season,once again Phil,thanks for the articles🇮🇪
Don’t think the banner was the work of the Green Brigade
You’re right, changing the manager is not enough, because, given Pedros record with every manager, and his inability to close a deal seems to be some kind of organic personality flaw, what manager would consider coming here, unless they were desperate or mediocre – I really thought the Rogers issues would have brought some kind of intervention from the board, instead, they took the easy option, painted him as the pantomime villian and somehow Pedro managed to emerge stronger – appointing, a great Celt, but a poor manager, half cut no doubt, in the shower, after a cup final…..
Professional or what…
HH