REVERED one minute, reviled the next. Welcome back to Glasgow, Martin.
The Celtic Annual General Meeting was always going to be a tempestuous affair, but no-one could have forecast the chaos that was about to descend upon the Kerrydale Suite at Parkhead yesterday.
Exactly four minutes and 37 seconds into proceedings, chairman Peter Lawwell was forced to call for an adjournment in the hope a half-hour calming-down period among a section of fans amid the shareholders would help everyone refocus on the business at hand.
The storm clouds that had gathered were still evident when the AGM got underway after a false start.
Following a chorus of loud boos and a sea of red cards from some clearly agitated fans, the destination of the gathering right from the very start had been inevitable.
Why on earth would anyone bring a red card to a meeting if they were hoping for reasonable, rational and sensible discourse?
THOUGHTFUL…Martin O’Neill reflects after the rowdy AGM yesterday.
Twenty-five minutes after returning to the table, Lawwell had little option but to abandon the meeting. He signed off with: “I am going to have to apologise to those supporters who have the best interests of the club at heart, but I am going to have to draw the meeting to a close.”
The trigger for a storm of angry protests came when Ross Desmond, son of principal shareholder Dermot, made a statement on behalf of himself and his father in response to what he insisted was “negativity and misinformation” surrounding the club.
He continued: “There is no doubt we make mistakes and try to learn from them, we will not be bullied by aggressive factions.”
The opportunity for shareholders to discuss the past year’s activities, review financial reports, ask valid questions and deliver some constructive comments was buried under a landslide of furious dissent and cries of “sack the board”.
In the midst of the utter confusion of an unprecedented occurrence at the club, there had been erroneous reports of the AGM being rescheduled.
In the cold light of day, that possibility can only be ranked alongside the raising of The Titanic and a relaunch of the doomed ocean-going liner knowing it would unerringly set sail on an identical course for a meeting with the same iceberg.
Martin O’Neill was applauded at the beginning of the day, but his star lost a little of its sheen when he stated Desmond Jnr was quite correct to air his views.
LET’S TALK…chairman Peter Lawwell, chief executive Michael Nicholson and chief financial officer Chris McKay have a discussion.
“He has every right to say what he said, absolutely,” insisted the club’s interim manager while praising Dermot and stating: “I have the utmost regard for him for what he has done at the football club and for the money that he has put in himself. I think that sometimes these things are forgotten.
“I’m not an apologist for the board. But the board have said that they’ve made mistakes. There’s only so many times that you can apologise and then you have to get on with things again.
“A united Celtic will be far better equipped to compete and try and win again.”
O’Neill may be his own man, but his words will cut no ice with a section of the support who appear to be unwilling to listen to someone else’s opinion.
In an earlier life, when I spent almost three decades at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, I was called into umpteen conferences with the heads of various departments to discuss matters pertaining to both national titles.
There was a lot said in these so-called meetings of the minds that I certainly didn’t agree with. I would push the claims for such-and-such a sports story to be the front page splash to be voted down by people who wouldn’t know a football from a cannonball.
I didn’t agree with their viewpoint, but I respected their right to have their say.
There’s been a lot of comments and remarks offered this season concerning the Celtic board that don’t coincide with my own thoughts. That’s fine, so long as they are delivered in the proper manner. That’s democracy.
I’m probably viewed as a pee hee for the Parkhead powerbrokers, too. That’s not a new accusation. I had those comments trotted out with monotonous regularity during my days in the inky trade where the Daily Record was known as the Daily Rhebel and the Sunday Mail was the Sunday Liam.
People are entitled to their opinion. However, it’s much easier to decipher the message when it is supplied coherently rather than drowned out in a cacophony of tumult.
As far as the relationship between the club and a section of the support is concerned, a crack has become a chasm.
In the good old days of print newspapers, it was almost de rigueur to become embroiled in such impasses almost on a daily basis. You would never believe the interdepartmental rivalry that existed on the editorial floor. I suppose it kept everyone sharp.
In such circumstances, I would normally search for middle ground in a stubborn debate. There had to be a bit of give and take on both sides before we could make progress. Mutual respect had to be observed.
There may have been uneasy truces, but, at least, we had discovered a route to go forward.
We have to hope that the situation at Parkhead is not viewed as the immovable object versus the irresistible force.
And please remember that little word: respect.
ALEX GORDON
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