Football is brutal. Each year, boys who have worked tirelessly for years in the hope of making the big time are cut free, hundreds of them across Scotland, little has changed in this respect for a century. Whereas these traumas happen privately, the managers and coaches responsible for those decisions, face their own brutal edge in the most public manner possible, often with hoards yelling for their removal.
At every level, someone has the responsibility of telling someone else, he or she is out. This is the DNA of an industry we all wanted to be part of as kids, then look on in horror later in life.
Dominic McKay was one of our own, a Celtic fan who worked his way up to run Scottish Rugby, not through the usual routes of commercial, accounting or legal, but from being the in-house public relations man. The transformation at the club since the end of last season has been beyond my expectations; failures at Tynecastle, Ibrox and Denmark did not cut deep, as the direction of travel was clearly forward. His course seemed assured from the outside.
Despite the common delusion, chief executive of Celtic is neither easy nor straightforward. You run a TV channel and other media outlets, several licenced premises and restaurants; a bricks and clicks retail operation. You deal with the whim of the police and Scottish Government, the SFA and SPFL. There is a youth operation, with its myriad of complexities and a major events venue that accommodates enough people to bring half a city to a stop when in operation.
Then there are the pressure groups: fans, media, a board and major shareholders; executive, coaching and playing staff. None of them are really pressure groups, but that’s what they will feel like if you are trying to keep them happy. Crucially, if you want to affect change, you need to be able to lead people in those pressure groups. If you cannot lead, your lack of followers is your fault. Genuine agents of change prove this.
And there’s the football, which underpins all revenue streams and can cause joy or heartbreak on the bounce of a ball.
Wealthy young players, some with more sense than others, the ever-present contract negotiations with agents whose job it is to find someone else to make more money than you can afford. You make multi-million pound investments with consequences that stretch years into the future and despite all the metrics, whopping mistakes are made at every club.
The bandwidth you need to do this job well is unimaginable to most of us. It takes management experience, people skills and a firm control on your stress levels. You need to know when to be hands off and when to give clear and early guidance. Doing 90% of the necessary elements brilliantly will lead to disaster if you overlook something fundamental. You also need luck.
Dominic McKay found out about that brutal edge earlier than any of us expected; football is meritocratic in this respect. It was not results, it had nothing to do with former execs who are now on the beach (honestly!), nor was it about character, his remains impeccable.
He made mistakes, one was largish, but even the best do. If he had the bandwidth for the task, he could have done more to demonstrate this, a large and complex business will expose your bottlenecks. At Celtic, PR is hugely complex but even then, it would never be a launching pad for the top job. PR in rugby is mundane by comparison; this route to the top drew the eye when I read of Dom’s appointment. He was not a good fit and this is a poor look for Celtic.
Best of luck in your next appointment, Dom.
348 Comments- Pages:
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Bournesouprecipie,
Yes indeed , people conveniently forget that.
The Irish tycoon – and Celtic’s majority shareholder – spoke on the eve of the 20th anniversary of McCann’s takeover and acknowledged he was won over by the masterplan that was being put in place way back in 1994 after the then board was ousted.
“It was all about saving Celtic – Fergus was saving Celtic,” recalled Desmond.
“I wasn’t really aware of all the intricacies going on between the various families and factions, but Fergus went in there, I would say, as a neutral, cold and hard, and wanted to do his best for Celtic and its fans.
“I saw that and I believed in that, and it was easy for me then to look at it on that basis and to support him.
“But I never looked upon it purely as a normal investment because, as I’ve said many times before, Celtic is an emotional investment, although at the same time you don’t want to be throwing money at emotional investments as you could go broke pretty quickly doing that.
“So I looked upon it as creating a solid financial platform for Celtic in conjunction with Fergus and the other board members.
“But the emotional side of it sways you. If it had been another club on the same basis, I wouldn’t have been interested in investing.
“But, from when I was a young boy, I had a fondness and a love for Celtic so it was easy for me to look at it closely and I started off wanting to invest rather than from a basis of refusing it.”
Who is taking responsibility for these major recruitment errors .
From Chief executives to blemished youth players .
We stink .
TT
Jimdom 4.58
Dermot Desmond came in in 1995, somewhat under the radar, and for whatever reason, has stayed
From memory I don’t know how you can say the above.He was on board from early doors,being one of the original 4 who put in £1million which along with Fergus’s £9m was a solid base to go to market..DD then assisted Fergus in advising the plc model which then was seen as the best way for Fergus to do what he did,it resulted in a true record input/purchase of shares by Celtic fans.
He was involved Fergus’s exit,overseeing continuity and ushering in a 20 year unmatched success period only excelled by one night in Lisbon.(now no him the actual event:-) in our history.
That ongoing continuity seen us through govt chaos and a banking failure.
Under the radar I think not.feral capitalist..thats another question :-)
Hope all good with you
HH
not sure what to make of the article – ah well, we’ve hit rock bottom. Onwards and upwards.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 5:24 PM
‘Corkcelt
Thank the lord he put his money in when nobody else stepped forward at a time when Fergus Mc Cann was done.’
###
Why?
What would have happened if he hadn’t?
The whingeing on here from many posters is demoralising.
Life’s too short for such relentless negativity.Thank you Paul67 for your efforts in producing thoughtful and insightful articles every day since I was introduced to the sight 16 years ago, but I have to get my Celtic fix elsewhere from now on. All the very best
!!BADA BING!! on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 4:20 PM
Embdae on here travelled from Scotland to Portugal recently?
—-
I was in Portugal last week.
You need an antigen test before you leave UK. Cost at airport is £55 compared to 25 euros in pharmacy in algarve (used the Maria Paula chain). You need to complete a locator form for Portugal (very simple). You’ll need to do a locator form for UK (more complex as usual for anything British). You need to book your day two UK test and use a reference number when doing the UK locator form. As earlier, you need an antigen test three days before coming back to UK.
I’d read about needing to show documentation in restaurants after 7pm at the weekend but we didn’t need to. Waking about a street, if busy, everyone wears a mask.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Walking about (hopefully awake😊).
TOM
My cousin came to Canada in the very early 70s had two girls and decided to move back home before they were school age, the oldest who is 44 moved back to Canada about fifteen or more years ago.Had a good job in Alberta was married and now lives in BC. She has the best of both worlds being citizens of both countries just like Emma.
I just hope that the press over in England go easy on her.
Auldheid @ 3.29
If a lack of probity was a condition of attendance at UEAF’s top table then we would be a permanent member.
Keep up your good work
Hail Hail
Stay Safe
MADMITCH on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 2:33 PM
JHB @ 2.27
You do talk some amount of *hite.
Your grasp of reality is tenuous at best
You sound like a particularly precocious teenager.
Adrian Mole aged 13 and three quarters.
________________________________________________________
…and posting comments like that – you must be at least what – 14?
Corkcelt
Thanks for both your posts
HH
Donald Trump must be an extremely intelligent and very competent man given his wealth.
That’s how it works, right ?
If I may just set a wee cat among the pigeons, I’ve been told by someone currently working in Scottish football, an ex-Celtic player, a guy that has no axe to grind – quite the opposite – that Ange was Peter Lawwell’s first choice and that the pursuit of Eddie Howe was not Lawwell-driven.
Make of it what you will.
BOB LOBLAW on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 5:53 PM
The whingeing on here from many posters is demoralising.
Life’s too short for such relentless negativity.Thank you Paul67 for your efforts in producing thoughtful and insightful articles every day since I was introduced to the sight 16 years ago, but I have to get my Celtic fix elsewhere from now on. All the very best
Bob i agree the ‘neggin’gets to you.but please don’t stop inputting mate.hope is a good thing.
:-)
HH
Adrian Mole making an appearance on the blog!
“I have realised I have never seen a dead body or a real female nipple. This is what comes of living in a cul-de-sac.”
Tories in trouble. SNP clean sweep
BOB LOBLAW on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 5:53 PM
I agree most Celtic fans I know are spirited, have hope and look to lift each other, whilst being very realistic and willing to fight for a cause.
Some of the two line neg posters, who, with out fail on here predict disaster are either trolls, huns or just miserable cants who have very little emotional maturity; in that are happy to impart their stresses onto others.
In the the real world there are many Celtic supporters i want around in a crisis.
Panicking online miserables-no thanks.
Even words from the manager himself they ignore. Back in the good old days people would quieten down once their credibility was shot. Not now.
In summary.
Ange stated he’s happy with the window.
Happy with squad numbers.
Happy with interim CEO and Board.
And I would add is manager of the best club in the World🍀
Now choose to cheer up or seriously go visit a doctor.
G
Ziggydoc- were you double jagged? UK Gov website, kindly posted by Aipple,says no test required outgoing if double jagged, 1 travel agent today said as we’re not in EU,we need a test
PARKHEADCUMSALFORD on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 2:53 PM
TOSB,
I am being sent the letter, with the QR code, rather than have it on my phone. I phoned 08081968565. I hope this helps.
…………………..
Thanks for getting back to me. I got the letter about 2 months ago. I’ll need to check if it has a QR Code. Thanks again.
AN DÚN on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 6:05 PM
Donald Trump must be an extremely intelligent and very competent man given his wealth.
That’s how it works, right ?
=============================
Eh no.
Seems strange to me that Gordon Strachan whom I liked as a coach and a decent person,he gets the all clear to work with Celtic and Dundee ,then the same week Dom Mc Kay resigns due to personal issues,?
BADA BING, yes I’m double vaccinated and still need an antigen test.
TOM MCLAUGHLIN on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 6:16 PM
Tories in trouble. SNP clean sweep
————–
och, you will waken up the krakens.
incoming.
Andrew Neil
@afneil
·
1h
It’s official: I have resigned as Chairman and Lead Presenter of GB News.
——————-
give him more time to post on here.
Ziggydoc- thanks for your info mate,maybe when lists are updated midweek, the requirements might be sorted as well, HH
TSOB,
I have the original letter too. You need a new one with the QR code.
THOMAS TUCHEL claims axed Chelsea star Ben Chilwell was left anxious and “mentally tired” from the frustration of being stuck on the bench at Euro 2020.
The wee lamb….
Another wee issue for RS. McGinn subjected to racism @ Chelsea.
Hmmmm…what next
ERNIE LYNCH on
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 5:24 PM
‘Corkcelt
Thank the lord he put his money in when nobody else stepped forward at a time when Fergus Mc Cann
was done.’
———————————————————–
Why?
What would have happened if he hadn’t?
————————————————————
Ernie
We’ll never know.
What we do know is that there is a solvent, miraculous football club called Celtic, thriving despite a renewed ultra anti environment, not forgetting your own particular brand of daily Bloggers cynicism. Are you the leader off, of all the wee fan8ies that log in here everyday, to slag the club they say they support?
How much did you put in? CSC
!!BADA BING!! on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 7:12 PM bench at Euro 2020.
THOMAS TUCHEL claims axed Chelsea star Ben Chilwell was left anxious and “mentally tired” from the frustration of being stuck on the
The wee lamb….
Aye, poor soul.
About time someone in football reminded these snowflake pricks what life is really like.
Haw, Bob……………….
Exiting THIS Dear Green Place….ain’t necessarily the right response……..
It’s what the sleekits want…………I think you’ll find the grass is no greener………………
Just look at the tourists we see here, when the important stuff starts to fly.
HH.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 7:20 PM
If TGD hadn’t bought Fergus McCann’s shares from him then either someone else would have, or Fergus McCann would have retained them.
Why then are you thanking the Lord?
BADA BING, just remember you need to look at the requirements of whichever country your going to. The UK gov site has up to date information. If you’re going via a travel company, they also have up to date information.
Ziggydoc- yes mate,cheers
FofD @ 1.18 — Crap rumour / nonsensical scuttlebutt / made up shi*e.
FofD @ 6.08 — Interesting rumour / hint of truth / tasty nugget.
DD / the Irish Raj wants to get us into the EPL — by hook or by crook.
PL / the world’s most useless DofF ever wants someone he can engage with / control.
EH would have been the EPL friendly candidate second only to FL regarding managers resting / waiting for their next gig — lots of column inches / media attention down south if either had turned up.
Not quite what PL would have had in mind regarding ideal candidates as with the profile comes the demands and the independence — not good if you are used to running the show.
So we are back to square minus one.
The same useless crew in the boardroom but now the club has the black spot regarding recruiting management talent.