The first question I was asked this morning by a solicitor and non-football fan was, “How much is Brendan Rodgers worth?” I said, “He’s probably earned around £30m over the last 15 years”. “So he has enough to sue, if anything Dermot Desmond said is wrong”, came back. You and I both know, he’s not going to sue. It’s all true. It is also high time Celtic took a direct approach to communicating with the supporters.
Who of us would have guessed that Brendan Rodgers, Brendan Rodgers, the man of legendary impeccable character, would have his “conduct and communication” called into question? How shocked was I to read that Brendan’s assertion about the club were “simply untrue”! Untruths come easier to some than others.
Two players in particular are pertinent to the assertion that Brendan had “full knowledge, approval, and endorsement” of players bought and sold; Kyogo and Nicolas Kuhn. “Sell them” is not what should have been said when offers came in for either player. Brendan has favourites in the squad. Others, not so much.
The first thing Martin O’Neill is likely to do when he meets the squad is put an arm around Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda, and put a call into Cameron Carter-Vickers. Where there are favourites, there are outsiders. Celtic have looked and played like a team divided for most of this year.
This absolute mess was predictable and predicted. On his return as manager in June 2023, I wrote, “Brendan will find a united dressing room, backroom and supporter base. We should all try hard to keep things this way, self-indulgent schisms do nothing for Celtic.” Two years later Dermot Desmond wrote that Brendan’s words and actions were “divisive, misleading, and self-serving”.
Predicted: “Self-indulgent schisms” and we got “divisive… self-serving”. I called it.
The wee-man toxicity that left the club in 2019 was welcomed back to my utter astonishment. Pardon my, “Welcome to Celtic, Brendan” on the day, it was with the best intentions but not entirely sincere.
Martin O’Neill was brought in with a remit to unite the dressing room. A team divided cannot win. Players need to know they are respected. The Honda Civic stuff was not a material comment, merely a public manifestation of what had been the reality at Lennoxtown for a long time.
Celtic has been set back years as a consequence of the decision to appoint Brendan in 2023. I hope the board recognise this, reflect how it came about and on their role in the mess. If you welcome the fox into the hen house, you cannot complain when he eats the hens.
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Yesterday, Celtic Football Club confirmed that Brendan Rodgers had left his position as manager. The signs of decline have been evident since the summer, and this crisis has come as a direct result of a clear absence of planning and the latest poorly executed transfer window
Supporters hold differing views on Rodgers, but regardless of how anyone feels about our former manager, the ultimate responsibility for our current position lies with the board who appointed, reappointed and managed the manager as well as holding responsibility for all other operational matters. With conflicting accounts now in the public domain about what happened in the summer, it is difficult to reach a full conclusion about specific dealings, but we do know the following to be true:
1. Only weeks ago, the Chief Executive assured the Celtic Fans Collective that “the Club did not accept there is a disconnect between the board and the manager”, which has now been directly contradicted by the Principal Shareholder in a statement hosted on the Club’s official platform.
2. The board declined to investigate a leak to The Sun newspaper which accused the manager of behaviours that the Principal Shareholder has now also aired in public.
3. The Principal Shareholder has insisted that every pound generated by the club is invested into its success, despite the large sums the club holds in the bank. With these points in mind, it is understandable that for many fans, their trust in club communications has completely broken. It is also important to note that Dermot Desmond, by releasing his own statement before the Chief Executive had made any comment, has publicly undermined him and made it clear that he alone holds power over Celtic Football Club.
Michael Nicholson, Chris McKay and the rest of the board have shown they lack the strength or independence to stand up to Dermot Desmond. They are incapable of developing and executing a strategy that will allow Celtic to reach its potential and have repeatedly let down both the manager and the supporters
It’s Donovan or Ralston and you can’t blame Brendan as AJ has surgery and is out for the duration
Full Media Conference: Martin O’Neill & Shaun Maloney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13q57iJDSFI
LIONROARS67 on 28TH OCTOBER 2025 4:42 PM
The statement from the collective is irrefutable.
In my experience, arrogant people assume the rest of us have memories of goldfish.
They’re mistaken.
Maybes Dominic McKay had the audacity to disagree with DD, or God forbid stood up to him, just a thought >:)
Mon used his bumbling charm act to get through the presser
As is Mons way, nothing exciting to report, which IMO is good
Shaun looked nervous understandably, thankfully for him Mon did most of the talking
Only serious point made was by Mon, we need to win football matches
Here endeth the lesson
THE EXILED TIM on 28th October 2025 4:48 pm
“Maybes Dominic McKay had the audacity to disagree with DD, or God forbid stood up to him, just a thought >:)”
Almost certainly, por cierto
Vintage MON, said a lot and said “absolutely nothing” por cierto
facts are facts – celtic as a football club, failed miserably to replace quality players lost pre season – fact!! despite fans (dont fall asleep at the wheel) and Rodgers (we need to replace goals lost) , constantly leading up to the window closing.
The club has an absolute disaster and we’re now paying for it. Rodgers, after the window shut, should have shut up and got on with coaching and getting the best out of this team. He didn’t, because of his ego and protecting his reputation.
Either way – the team was flat, too many players picked despite woeful performances (hatate has been rank for months).
I’d get Saracchi into the midfield – he has pace , can tackle and can link up front – we lack physicality and it’d find a space for him somewhere in the middle.
hoping o’neil doesnt pick the same team/formation
Boondock Saint…
” We are a bigger laughing stock right now than Rangers…”
Outside of the goldfish bowl of Scotland I don’t believe that’s the case, it will hardly cause a ripple never mind a giggle. It will soon be the paper that wraps your chips. Other than Celtic fans and a number of obsessive huns this is a story that will quickly be pushed to the back of the mind, especially if we get back on the winning trail. The huns got a victory at the weekend and it has calmed a lot of their nerves for the most part. Winning is everything, results are what matters. Sure, there’s a lot of work to be done and finding a new manager will keep us on the front and back pages, more so if there are changes to the make up of the board. I doubt we will get a detailed response from Brendan, probably just a “Who me? That wasn’t the case…” sort of reply. We need to move on quickly now. Dermot needs to haud his wheesht and get back on the golf course…but before he does he should put the vain Peter Lawwell on notice to let the next manager get on with the job, support him and not interfere. Personally, I’d like to see the back of him. He’s not Mr Celtic and neither is Desmond.
Supporters bus full for a midweek game for first time in months. Looking forward to it myself more than I was.
Also, for anyone concerned about DDs statement (half of whom have been crying out for more comms) at least it wasn’t AI generated. (ThumbsUp)
AN DÚN on 28TH OCTOBER 2025 4:47 PM
Agreed good statement from the lifeblood of the club
The new Irish President Catherine Connolly has pledged to listen to all voices in Ireland
Multi generational family support within the collective, home and away commitment to supporting the team, the club should be approachable and be prepared to listen
Somebody needs to remove the blunderbuss from the majority shareholder before he does more damage
Some of the punching down at these supporters on CQN is a joke
We need to hear from the board
The majority shareholder speaks in plain English highlighting what has been going on.
Nah we prefer our tier 1 manager who has reduced us to heading for 3rd or 4th with a much weaker squad within 2 years.
The guy who hasn’t beaten a shambolic rangers in 90 mins in 5 attempts over 14 months.
What worried me about the MON press conference is that he didn’t seem to be taking things seriously, too quick to quip away, even going along with the lack of strong players criticism he doled out yesterday. Reminded me a bit of Dalglish coming back, as though his name would do the job. I hope it was all an act and he will reinvigorate the players’ confidence. It seems Maloney is being left to do all the tactical stuff.
I must say I am concerned with this, even as a short-term arrangement. If the club knew BR was going – and given how bad the relationship was, presumably they did – then hopefully the next permanent appointment won’t be far away. We need a leader with steel, vision and determination. I don’t see MON providing it. Hope I’m wrong.
Por Cierto,
Thanks for the response.
Definitely not a hun, but I am a lifelong supporter of both Celtic and Israel-there was a time when they were not incompatible. I’ve been on this earth long enough to know that things can change and I’ll hopefully be around to see them reconcile. Wishing you and all our fans only good health and good times.
Better a presser like that than the agenda ridden shite we have had for 8 months to cover the guys insecurities.
I really do think loads on here are happier when Celtic makes them unhappy and gives them lots to moan about.
My old man always said it was something folk liked to kick when they had other shit or inadequacies in their lives which they were struggling with.
The philosophy of a plumber and scrap metal dealer feels as true today as it was in the 60s.
B78
You really are a bitter bitter man
FFS, as if things weren’t bad enough
o’neil wasn’t critical of the current side – but he did say we are not creating enough chances – ie get the ball into the box. I remember he signed Steve Guppy! why , because his stats for whipping the ball quickly into the box suited his strikers. (despite his lack of pace) He wants chances and he likes teams to stop crosses coming into celtic box.
in terms of new manager – I like a manager with an aura and status. Can attract players. I’m concerned about going down the championship route with mckenna. Let’s get a proper leader of men!
Long time since I last posted.
Without offering any opinion, I’m always confused by what it is the Celtic fans want:
Replace sold players with same or better quality. Suggestion is that the board pocket profits and buy lower quality. If this is so, how did we get Kyogo, Kuhn, Hatate, Maeda … go back as far as you like and our great players have never been replaced with better. Dalglish?
I think the point I’m trying to make is that often we end up with better players than go out. They don’t always seem like that when they first join but become favourites reasonably quickly. Jota??
The opposite is also true. Spend big money sets expectations that may not be met. Engels so far is an example.
The next dichotomy is that we never get any communication from the board. We demand to know all the ins and outs. Who is responsible for signing/ not signing player X.
But when DD puts it in black and white either
a) He should have kept that internal or
b) he’s not telling the truth
In the past when I used to post a lot here I was clear on my ambitions for Celtic
Number 1 – play attractive attacking football
Number 2 – win the league
Number 1 should more than often be an enabler for number 2.
Anything else is a bonus. Domestic cups. Yeah we should win our fair share of them.
Europe – love European nights. But I don’t want to be spending money in an attempt to get to the group stages . To then be fleeced two fold. Ticket prices for the CL games. Increases in season ticket prices.
Always advocated that success in Europe should lead to a decrease in season ticket prices based on the net income (noting that staff / players would be due their bonuses)
Happy clapper. Yep. That’s me.
Full Media Conference: Martin O’Neill & Shaun Maloney (28/10/25)
https://youtu.be/13q57iJDSFI?si=zoGNjVqd5mePxoid
aff oot
If the CEO goes?
(I’m not current on this suggestion)
… does that mean this ends in a 1-1 draw?
Following which, sides often come out and say stuff like
“It’s probably a fair result.
I think they shaded the first half.
We were much better second half.
We could, and perhaps should, have won it … but we might have lost it too.
The good thing though is we competed. We made a game of it.
I’m proud of the effort the lads put in
So we’ll take the point, dust ourselves down and move on”
Decided to get the PPV for the Falkirk game . Partly intrigued to see what MO’N and SM do differently to BR
and partly to use up some out of date tangerines I’ve got ready to throw at the tv screen .
SGM date announcement – Friday 21 November.
AGM
The Brugge Bullshitter appeareth.
I was fortunate to attend many of Martin’s pressers over the years he was manager. He was great at talking non-stop and saying nothing. There was one occasion when Bobo came in to do tv and radio whilst Martin did the papers. When they swapped over, Martin came in and was asked about Alan Thompson’s availability after being out injured for a couple of weeks. Martin insisted no decision had as yet been taken. He was then informed that Bobo had already told everyone in the room that the team had been announced and Thompson was back. His answer was, “Really? He said that?” Shook his head and continued, “Oh well, no more press conferences for Bobo Balde.”
WilliamF
“Definitely not a hun, but I am a lifelong supporter of both Celtic and Israel”.
Have your read this?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/18/what-we-know-about-the-torture-abuse-of-palestinian-prisoners-by-israel
Celtic have revealed that the event will take place at Celtic Park at 10.30am on the morning of Friday November 21.
In formal notice of the AGM, they informed the stock exchange wrote: “Celtic plc confirms that its Annual General Meeting will be held Celtic Park, Glasgow G40 3RE on Friday 21 November 2025 at 10.30am.
Nicholson will be away before then,and The Golfer will be golfing
“ If the CEO goes?
(I’m not current on this suggestion)
… does that mean this ends in a 1-1 draw?”
Nope.
To quote Chairbhoy talking about something that happened 20 years ago “This is when the feral Capitalists took over our Club and have been screwing us ever since”.
For folk like him it’s not about sport, it’s not about football and it’s not about Celtic.
For them it’s political and it’s ideological.
Whoever’s in the boardroom will never be acceptable.
Bada – nothing consequential ever happens at an AGM. Nothing . Ever.
And thats the way it should be…….
Im no fan of Nicholson as he has offered nothing to judge on.
I suspect Dermot might attend this one, but only might………….
I suspect we’ll hear a lot about Hot water, cold pies and a lack of parking.
FACT! CSC
HH my friend.
STEBHOY on 28TH OCTOBER 2025 5:19 PM
McKenna’s status is similar to Howe’s when we were after him. Howe is now out of our reach. I think McKenna will be after his next job. Not necessarily saying he’d be my pick but he’s well respected within the game and I wouldn’t turn my nose up at him either.
Hi all,
Following last night’s developments and the growing unrest among supporters, the Celtic Fans Collective Steering Committee has unanimously agreed to call a protest demonstration outside Celtic Park tomorrow evening from 7pm.
This decision has the full backing of all major supporter organisations.
We’re asking all groups to encourage your members to attend in strong numbers and to help send another clear message to the Celtic board – it’s time for them to go.
An announcement will be issued through our usual channels shortly.
Best regards
Celtic Fans Collective
We would be very fortunate to get McKenna.
821k for Nicholson including bonuses to year ended June 2025 , make of that what you will, is he worth it?
And 123k for Lawwell.
BB- Yeah,been to a few,tepid ,stage managed nonsense