If Michael Nicholson were a British Prime Minister, he would be preparing to spend more time with his family.
There comes a point where it is untenable.
Irretrievable.
With Andy Burnham now ensconced in temporary accommodation at Downing Street, that brings the number who have had the keys to the place since 2016 to SEVEN.
All failed in their own ways in a job that resembles the England manager’s prospects of success.
The undeniable fact is that since 1945, the UK (Unstable Kingdom) has been on an inexorable slide in the global significance league.
That irked many Brits, and those born that year of victory had a chance, as septuagenarians, to “take back control”.
That generation of Brit Baby Boomers had lived through the imperial implosion from Suez to Hong Kong, the IMF in 1976, and the collapse of Northern Rock in 2008.
It wasn’t Britain that sat at the centre of a vast empire of grateful subjects of the Crown.
All of their midlife woes were blamed on Brussels.
It was Brit MAGA, and it worked.
For the avoidance of doubt, Burnham won’t fare any better than his predecessors since 2016 in addressing the debt spiral that the British state cannot escape.
Rugger Guy occasionally regales me with scary stories about Ten-Year Gilt Yields.
I don’t have the heart to tell him I’ve no feckin clue what he’s on about, except that I reckon that the Brits are banjaxed.
His settled view is that within the next decade, the IMF will be knocking on the door of Number 11 Downing Street.
I, of course, couldn’t possibly comment.
Except to say, if that is all true, then it doesn’t really matter WHO is in Number Ten.
Having Liz Truss back is the outlier to that statement!
Lettuce Pray and all that…
In any political crisis, a defecting loyalist is always worth taking notice of.
Consequently, this statement from the CSA is worth reading.
On the point, Michael Nicholson allegedly stated in Cork that agents’ fees were the issue.
Actually, according to the published minutes, he didn’t say that.
He referenced the difficulties in “DEALING” with agents, not their fees per se.
I realise that this will all be lost in the noise level as the dysfunction at the Parkhead club seems to focus on the CEO and the board.
Well, let’s take the last one first.
There is no board in any meaningful sense of the word.
As for Michael Nicholson, he quite clearly isn’t CEO material.
People who know him say he’s a thoroughly decent man and does the behind-the-scenes legal work very well indeed.
However, to negotiate, you need to be able to read people and gauge their next move.
Perhaps that’s why he had difficulties in dealing with agents.
I have spoken with several people who dealt with him when he was Celtic’s Company Secretary.
They all remarked on Nicholson’s competence and forensic eye for legal detail.
A square peg in a square hole.
His temporary appointment has become a permanent problem.
Yet the problem resides above him where the real power is.
Before Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, he had to visit Charles, Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, to get the job.
As part of their unwritten shambles of a non-constitution, everyone accepts that the poster child for German consanguinity had to go along with the decision of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
As I have stated here recently, Celtic, under Desmond, is an absolute monarchy.
Peter Lawwell was allowed the time and space to become the éminence grise on Kerrydale Street.
Ultimately, though, the power resided with Desmond.
It still does.
That only changes with the selling of shares, and that takes a lot of money and a willing buyer.
This isn’t 1994 when we could and did “sack the board”.
I know, I was there.
Now there is no board to sack, and season tickets have replaced paying in at the turnstile.
The old board ran Celtic like Greece.
Desmond has the Parkhead club operating like Norway with the SPFL equivalent of a sovereign wealth fund.
The thing is, what to do with those riches.
Moreover, making Michael Nicholson the lightning rod for this binfire is unhelpful and unfair.
For his sake and that of his family, he should go, but not for the reason many are spewing out for clicks and dislikes.
Consequently, the FNG will fare no better at the Court of King Dermot.
If the boss has a plan, he should let shareholders know and provide better protection for the people entrusted with implementing the project.
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Still no shortage of board apologists.
Oh dear.
Firstly, there is no board in any meaningful sense, and that’s a major part of the problem.
Moreover, decrying the personal abuse of Minchael Nicholson does not give the club a pass on yet another shambolic transfer window.
The hard thing is that so many of us loyal supporters of over 60 years are slowly dying,
We need to remember the horrible times when the club was not winning any trophies,
The last 16 years have been so prolific that we expect instant results on recruitment,
Yes many Scottish clubs have taken on new players , we I believe need to have faith in Martin and follow his calm lead
Let’s hope we can get over this problem and Celtic football club can keep giving pleasure to millions around the world 🇮🇪☘️
Phil I recognise a lot of what you are saying and thanks for calling out the inaccuracy of the CSA statement This is one you have picked up and highlighted and ties in with a concern that I have
I would agree with the concerns about the club’s organisational setup, poor communication, limited fan engagement, the delay in establishing a fully functioning board, refreshed governance protocols, the absence of a chairman beyond the interim one, and the need for a new CEO—which I personally believe is necessary for a number of reasons(including the health and well being of MN and his family) are all valid.
That said, while much of the criticism is warranted if conveyed in a structured manner.
I am often and increasingly by the day uncomfortable with the manner in which it is sometimes expressed. Manners and basic decency cost nothing !
The issue I am highlighting of equal concerns is the apparent eagerness in some quarters to condemn the club or its board by relying on claims, interpretations, supposed quotations, perceived actions and insinuations that often fail to withstand close examination and start to represent mud flinging at an industrial level
In many cases, these assertions appear to lack both factual support and credible evidence.Furthermore, certain allegations are repeated so frequently that they begin to be accepted / perceived as fact, despite being inconsistent with other available information and commentary, that’s is selectively ignored.
It is disappointing that many of current Celtic sites / blog sites chose to jump on stories with limited facts or verification of these
The claims of many in recent years to provide an alternative to MSM had initially been welcomed for a while, however some of the sites are failing to do basic journalistic verification and the irony is that some are falling into serialisation / click bate on steroids and worse conducting a personal vendetta against Michael Nicholson
A final point to reflect on is that such behaviours which i am sincerely uncomfortable with will not do anything to enhance the clubs efforts to recruit / bring in new head of function roles, executive directors and non executive directors.
The over eagerness and personal attacks on current board only serve to paint the club in a toxic light, which is likely to further deter sold business leaders from considering a role to help restructure the club
The club has tried to recruit new executives and board members but have been turned down because none of them want to be Dermot’s puppet so that leaves the present yes men and unqualified people in place.
This is one of our problems , clysdalebhoy has no way of knowing why the attempts to recruit new executives & Board members is because none want to be D D puppet.
I could argue none of those prospective executives & Board members were prepared to join as they noted the ridicule & abuse & threats tossed at existing executives + Board members . They are aware of the success Celtic have 14/15SPLs + numerous doubles & trebles .
I am not saying I am definitely correct but I could just be as correct if not more so than Clydedalesbhoy
Nicholson is not suited to the role of a modern day Ceo, and he should do the honourable thing and tender his resignation. He could be kept around for his legal expertise but he should be nowhere near potential signings and their agents.
Saying that, he is not alone. There are plenty of people who are currently stealing a wage at Celtic. DD is the biggest obstacle when it comes to having a properly functioning club. He should do himself and the fans a favour by offering up his shares for sale.
The place needs a complete clear out if Celtic are to get anywhere close to being seen as a progressive football club. It’s sad to see and it wouldn’t take much to get things back on track. But nobody I know has much faith in the current custodians HH
This is pedalling nonsense that a very small % of Celtic fans do loudly & clearly as regular as clockwork. What started off as SMSM trying to create difficulties & divisions amongst our club is now been spread widely .The club has not been without success over last 15 yrs . Prior to that Celtic had to complete against Rangers who were according to a judge cheating almost to match fixing .
Those of us who actually attend games know that the cheating still exists by Rangers2012 & every other institute in Scotland who can influence the game . The Board may not be perfect, whose club Board is , but our club can hold its head high .
Board needs to communicate with fans , but it isn’t easy when fans openly call Board the crudest terms they can think of as well as calling Board liars . There needs to be a change , our fans claim they have true love for club & want success. This success will soon be lost if the infighting, ridiculing & threatening continues. We remember times when we went years without success, we don’t want to visit them again
I remember the day when The bonnet our Fergus as booed by the fans, the opening game this year could be a massive message to the Celtic BORED, yes i did spell it correctly
Can anyone say if there were any directors at the game on Saturday? Thanks HH
There were two the Chairman and the finance guy.