Dermot Desmond’s statement to Celtic’s AGM today, read out by his son Ross, was in the same tone as his recent statement regarding Brendan Rodgers’ behaviour as Celtic manager. Fire towards the board and their families in recent months was met by returning fire, as Desmond gave a robust defence of 20+ years of stewardship. He acknowledged mistakes and shortcomings, but was unequivocal in the commitment of those running the club to bring success to Celtic.
Protests (I believe) on behalf of the Green Brigade, who were held liable for the 500 tickets withheld from Celtic for the League Cup semifinal, saw chairman Peter Lawwell adjourn the AGM to allow order to return. Lawwell called for order during Desmond’s statement, before drawing the meeting to a close as protests continued.
Afterwards, Martin O’Neill invoked the memory of Jock Stein, who talked about unity, “without it, you won’t win, before giving his thoughts on proceedings: [The AGM] finished early because it became too raucous.
“I saw board members admitting mistakes have been made, but now’s the opportunity to move on…. Celtic have had really great success, certainly domestically in the last number of years… but let’s see if the football club, and Scottish football in general, can get back to some great days.”
For Martin, Dermot Desmond, Michael Nicholson and the rest of the board, the only resolution lies in putting a successful football team on the field. This has been achieved to unprecedented levels in recent years, but football is all about tomorrow’s game. Get the structure right, win the league and get our European credentials back, and all else fades into insignificance. Football is a simple business – put the ball in the net, win games and trophies; that’s all.
The alternative is a perennial bin fire. Speaking of which, I see Perennial Bin Fire FC released their accounts during the Celtic AGM. “Good day to bury bad news”, as they say. We’ll do a compare and contrast next week.
329 Comments- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- »
An Dun, from previous thread…
The support have never had control of Celtic. Never.
I have sympathy with your point of view, but if there is any way to exert influence and obtain improvement, it’s by using the rules of the company.
The Celtic support is not a single, homogenous body. We are a disparate community with myriad backgrounds and outlooks. One supporter’s season ticket boycott is another’s irrelevance. A few big matches won and the empty seats will be filled again.
Celtic plc is chronically poorly governed. The majority of the challenges we face are bound up in a minority shareholder acting in a shadow-executive capacity without meaningful supervision, oversight or accountability.
The only way to change that is to mobilise shareholder support for change and specifically the few significant shareholders the support of whom Dermot Desmond needs to behave as he does. Treating an AGM like a student union hustings is sadly ineffective as a persuasive strategy in that respect. It simply serves to reinforce the view amongst those significant shareholders that there’s little to be gained in decoupling from Dermot Desmond.
If I was (I’m not) a member of the Celtic Trust, I’d be suggesting their association with the Celtic Collective undermines the Trust’s position and whatever influence they have or hope to acquire. Time to opt out, I think, or they’ll lose their mandate.
A sorry state of affairs and no mistake.
I’m all alone in here.
Everybody must be at the shareholders meeting.
Oh wait……
HH
If your measure of success is being ahead of the shambles that is rangers you have zero ambition. We have the resources to be a Champions League team. We’re not even a Europa League one now because of those in charge.
We bought season tickets in the covid season knowing we wouldn’t get to use them. How were we rewarded? With above inflation price rises and the money we contributed stagnating in the bank. I’m seriously at the stage of this being my last season.
I was wondering when the Green Brigade would get the blame of this morning, total gaslighting.When Desmond Jnr spoke his embarrassing crap,it could be heard,this lie that he was shouted down from speaking is total nonsense, it was a stage managed sham,to stop it ASAP
The game is over. The hooligans have won.
I’m glad we have a football match to play tomorrow night.
That’s correct. De-escalate don’t inflame. Don’t use language like “anti-establishment”, “behave”, “bullying” and “factions” to make a bad situation worse. It’s out of touch and arrogant (of course), but above all it’s a hopeless failure of leadership.
Desmond is the epitome of a ‘power over’ rather than ‘power with’ leader. It won’t wash whilst the club has sewn the seeds of its own failures.
Even the East German regime knew better than this crowd of numb nuts in their pathetic wee echo chamber. Contrast Ross Desmomd’s epic fail this morning with what the Stasi crowd said in October 1989 when Honecker feel on his sword (take note Lawwell, Desmond and Nicholson):
“Hard work and changes were necessary, he (Egon Keenan, replacement leader) said, adding: ‘We have in the past not assessed realistically the developments in society in this country, and we have not taken the right decisions in good time.’ There was need for dialogue, Mr Krenz said, without mentioning the fledgling opposition movement in the country”.
Jaysus even the East Germans were more switched in to the public mood a few weeks before the wall came down than this clown show.
Tom McLaughlin on 21st November 2025 4:02 pm
Define hooligan?
Let’s be brutally honest. The psychological impact of today’s AGM destroys our season. We are broken and it will filter to the players.
Additional disruptions – many injuries, new manager/tactics and the Africa nations.
Forget this season! We have turned into arrogant , entitled , spoiled club forgetting the very reason the club was formed.
Piling on the agony, spouting all our bile , 1234567 no class and no style.
PETERLATCHFORDSBELLY
take note Lawwell, Desmond and Nicholson
You don’t half fancy yersel wee man.
What mistakes were made don’t seem to matter as the Manager on leaving was slaughtered publically,was it his fault? Who fixes the issues that caused these mistakes remain secret, but trust us we know what we are doing.
In my opinion Celtic is going to find it difficult to recruit a Manager with the lack of unity on show today and when BR left.The club is damaged and statements like Desmond’s today does nothing for healing and nothing for unity.
I’d also like to invoke Jock Stein, if I may
“Football, without fans, is nothing”
PeterLatchfordsBelly on 21st November 2025 4:06 pm
100%.
Amazing how anyone can support the group of sheysters running our club.
Hey Tam, I’m not wee and I’m not your man.
Since we’re sharing constructive feedback you come across as a hard of thinking dinosaur. A paper tiger who’s time is past.
Isn’t it time for your nap Gold Coast Tom, you must be exhausted after staying up so late to watch the cricket.
You and your Tory pals won’t win this one Paul.
Desmond junior said the gap is unbridgeable to Braga and Midtjylland. Everyone chuck their season ticket there is no point apparently.
Sorry seems to be the hardest word
A a club we are divided, Board v Support
Trying to hold it all together is Martin and the players
I think we all sense we are hanging on
The only solution (IMHO) is for our Board principly DD to come out with an apology and a statement of reconciliation and intent on behalf of the Board
Grow a pair and acknowledge that the last year has been poor and for whatever reason as a club we have regressed
But don’t go to war with the messenger – the supporters
Everyman and his dog knows we are a poorer team
For Dermott Sorry seems to be the hardest word
67ECW
Paul67 I appreciate and accept you have your own opinion on the rights and wrongs of our current plight, but I thought it was a bit rich to list Martin with DD and MN and further, to exclude PL in the following sentence.
“For Martin, Dermot Desmond, Michael Nicholson and the rest of the board, the only resolution lies in putting a successful football team on the field”
I might be in a minority …
… but I don’t see events today derailing our season or even coming close.
Paul67, I think your bin fire analogy is fair enough.
Its just burning a wee bit more fiercely than yesterday … and it has some way to go before it burns out.
Stating the bleeding obvious though?
The chances of a dialogue based solution
.. which delivers some change at board level ?
.. receded this morning.
Back to Basics
but I don’t see events today derailing our season or even coming close.
Aye 👍
MON’s presser.
https://youtu.be/iQ0fqEMdgdc?si=fEzINYF0tincTdA1
I couldn’t make the AGM but what proportion of those attending caused the mayhem?
First up, stop the gaslighting.
Jnr speaking down to shareholders about the changes in European football as a means of justifying exits to; artmedia Bratislava, Maribor, Malmö, Cluj. AeK Athens. Midtjyland, Ferenchavaros, Kairat simply won’t do.
We’re not stupid. Treat your shareholders with some respect FFS.
Secondly, the refusal to invest tens of millions in the club, instead keeping it in the bank for a self fulfilling economic down turn is lunacy. It’s lazy.
No Club on the planet has 60% of it’s annual revenue in cash reserves – bar Celtic. If you don’t know how to invest in the club and grow the club then step aside and let more capable executives take your place.
The chances of a dialogue based solution
.. which delivers some change at board level ?
.. receded this morning after Ross Desmond read out an angry ill advised insulting address on behalf of his father, he certainly didn’t read the room, there was no mention of change at board level in his speech either, change at board level was not on todays Desmond family agenda
Mayhem???? You’ve led a sheltered life if today was mayhem!
what about the shareholders that took time off their work or travelled long distance to attend todays AGM only to be given their place by DD statement, a total shambles .
Yeah, pity the mob brought the meeting to a premature end and no one was able to ask about the cash reserves.
Celtic shareholders in mayhem shock!! They’ll be blackballed at the golf club.
Get the structure right, win the league and get our European credentials back, and all else fades into insignificance.
Someone ought to tell Desmond and the Board that – from the statement we’ve given up in Europe.
Celtic shareholder “mob” bring agm to an abrupt end. There was almost a scalding incident as tea was spilled.
I remember when shareholders were nice middle class people, if only we could turn back time.
The Blogger Formerly Known As GM on 21st November 2025 5:01 pm
Yeah, pity the mob brought the meeting to a premature end and no one was able to ask about the cash reserves.
There was no mob bringing it to an end. The cowards on the platform ran away when they got called out for what they are.
The anger in the support goes far beyond the GB. The refusal to acknowledge the wide representation of the fans collective is an act of bad faith and does not augur well for an effort to build bridges.
Has P67 once, just once, even mentioned the fans collective ?
Celtic shareholders in shock as GM doesn’t call them silly names other than mob, we’ll need to up our game during the tea session after mass.
Desmond and his lackeys want to pin “unrest” on the “radicals”. I looked around this morning and saw a collection of decent Celtic supporters who are simply fed up with the shoddy way the club is run. What’s “radical” about that?
Quite incredible today, the forelock tuggers and DD get confused with the scary green brigade and the much less scary Shareholder csc.
Turns out I’m a revolutionary!!
Viva the Republic.
Maolmuire O Muirgheasa
Another one who thinks he’s being sleekit and revealing some big secret by calling me Gold Coast Tom.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but I changed my moniker from Gold Coast Tom when I left the Gold Coast and returned to Scotland, and announced the change on the blog. Everyone knew so don’t think you’re being clever.
I’m now disappointed, hanging around waiting to be called a financial and career failure by B78 but he’s not around. Probably at Peters blowing smoke up his arse.