Early in the summer I said that to re-sign Kelechi Ineanacho would be an admission of failure that we were unable to scout a player better than one who was unable to compete for 90 minutes last term.
Then we were told the manager wanted him, while hearing that it was difficult to recruit players to Scotland (which is true). Kelechi was invited back, presumably because those privy to inside info on our recruitment plans believed he was better than our alternatives.
Celtic had an option to retain the player for next season, allowed it to lapse, provided Kelechi’s agent with a ‘Player in demand’ opportunity and saw him sign for Turkish side Bursaspor. Meanwhile, there is not a whisper from Celtic. Genuine incredulity among the fans is unanswered, I can only assume because explaining would not make things more palatable.
We will speak more about the direction of the club before the start of the season, but there is plenty to be alarmed about.
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Good morning all from sunny Govanhill.
Good morning BRRB from the Trossachs, cooling tower on in the caravan and it’s not even 10am 🙄
Prestonpans
It’s so hot here I may have to go oot.
Reluctant to blame CEO for everything – defence at corners to the weather.
Equally, I don’t know what work is going on ‘behind the scenes’
However, I’ve spent the majority of my career in the private sector (with some consultancy in the public)
Performance and rewards were very much linked to achievements, objectives delivered, outputs. Effort was not considered.
If we consider the outputs of the curremt exec, how would we appraise that?
Commercially, we appear to be successful. I’ve been to 8 countries this year and I’ve seen a Celtic top being worn in each.
Football wise, transfer wise, structure, comms, fan engagement? All are somewhere between poor and could be better.
I’m not sure what logic dictates we don’t want to do well in pre season friendlies
I’m not sure what football style Martin is trying to instil during pre season. I imagine he can only work with what he has. That is, he couldn’t consider playing with more width and lots of high crosses if we don’t currently have someone who could be on the end of said crosses. I dont believe Martin has been adequately supported and I’m far from relaxed about this.
Summary – concerned, not surprised.
Back to the golf for the day. Hopefully, a European winner
Anyone remember 7 months ago, when Celtic announced Peter Lawwell’s departure? The official club statement specified that Wilson would only step in “until a permanent appointment is made”. Wilson reinforced this himself during his initial media appearances, explicitly stating that he was acting as part of a temporary “process of change” and that it was a position he “didn’t want”.
Along the way he has made several statements about significantly backing the manager, engaging with fans, refreshing the board etc etc
All the heat seems to be aimed at Nicholson but Wilson has massively underperformed. Wilson’s primary function as Chairman is to provide robust oversight of the executive team. Instead, he has acted as a shield for Nicholson’s major errors, most notably Nancy’s appointment (When Rodgers departed, Nicholson explicitly announced that Wilfried Nancy was the board’s “number one candidate”).
During the recent Association of Irish Celtic Supporters Clubs (AICSC) AGM in Cork, Wilson sat alongside Nicholson as the CEO blamed agents and English Championship spending power for a lack of signings. Rather than demanding Nicholson utilize the £70 million to overcome these hurdles, Wilson echoed the sentiment on Celtic TV, dismissing fan frustrations as “absurd debates” and “rubbish”.
Wilson’s refusal to hold Nicholson accountable is an abandonment of his duties as Chairman, interim or not.
Martin “part-of-the-problem” O’Neill’s post-match presser:
https://youtu.be/aXjT574rUtk?is=o2wLUVEiQyzrOhk9
Gedinte
Thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughs which were very sensibly expressed in your posts during the early hours. I liked your possible explanation of the Iheanacho ‘fiasco’. I’ve been telling a few of my friends about your theory of the club’s current inactivity due to possible due diligence being carried out prior to a takeover. Do you still feel that this is the case?
The KI situation is very straightforward…..celtic didn’t want him on previous terms….fair enough
Offered a deal …agent got a much much better deal…again fair enough…I’ve no real anger with that situation
However if we are saying we can’t compete with Preston and Bristol city….when our turnover dwarfs theirs then there is something fundamentally wrong and I would say a deliberate lie !!!
THEORIGINALSADIESBHOY on 19TH JULY 2026 10:30 AM
The signals remain strong, but the clock is a ticking with no hard evidence materializing.
I still cannot make sense of the structural gaps; NEDs, chairman and other key operational positions. Additionally, there is nothing reassuring about the club’s transfer business, to the point where I would consider it reflects a lack of commitment. Not just in respect of support for the manager, as most would describe it, but more generally and in a sense where it portrays a business absent strategy or purpose. I still consider that MON could be in place because he would be supportive of an ownership change effected by DD, and a willing participant in facilitating the same, so while I don’t necessarily see him as “part of the problem, he could certainly be working with accepted constraints.
I note that on very low inter day volumes the share price has fallen by about 17% over the last month. This is strange because the business cycle would typically not present any cause for the market to weaken the club’s underlying valuation. Anticipated financial performance would already be well understood by the market given the way last season finished, and then especially in view of the strong season ticket renewals. That said, it could be a reaction to the “not another penny” campaign, though it’s hard to see how the market would assess and bake that in absent financial reports, and as I anticipate, a required comment from he board and auditors. It could also be a reflection of confidence, or lack thereof, that we will make the UCL group stages, but that also seems a tad premature. I am far from confident that we will make it through the annual £40M UEFA roulette event, but it is still a leap for the market to make that adjustment. It is fair to say that the attendance at yesterday’s friendly will do little to bolster the share price, and even financial markets trade on sentiment to some extent, so the constant negative press focused largely on transfer business will do little to assuage bearish views.
My own suspicion is that the share price got a little frothy because of the potential for a transaction, and the correction is a reflection that it is looking less likely.
The more time that passes, the less convinced I am that it will happen, principally because the close season and end of the financial year are the obvious window in which to get something done. It is possible that tires have been kicked and the club just failed to consummate a deal on this occasion, but will now move on and prepare to get something over the line next time around.
I am personally prepared for, and perhaps resigned to, another year of chaos and incompetence, punctuated with a trophy or two ;-). Sadly, even the winning is less enjoyable when a dark cloud looms over the club, and the intransigence of our significant shareholders causes such uncertainty.
#wakeupandsmellthecloverCSC
Yes we had the first day of the Glasgow fair and Pride yesterday, but the attendance against a very well known English team was frankly abysmal.
The beer gardens were packed as many enjoyed the sunny weather.
Not many Celtic supporters wanted to go or couldn’t be bothered going to this match.
That could be a worrying trend.
We all know the reasons for the apathy and to any Celtic supporter they are self explanatory.
Not good.
On a slightly different topic, z really good entertaining ” Bronze final ” last night.
Imo, negative tippy tappy boring football for the vast majority of teams is pointless and soooooo yesterday.
Attack is the best form of defence, but you must have attackers.
HH.
PS : Grow a set Celtic and as a minimum ban Hearts, Hibs and the Huns fans from Parkhead. Announce it on the insulting Monday evening we raise the flag.
I’m absolutely sure Fergus or Robert Kelly in his day would have taken far more robust action.
The heavy irony of Iheanacho,
A darling of the blame Brendan brigade we couldn’t even talk round, probably his agent’s fault. apparently we’re struggling, a club like no other? dealing with those officially licenced guys who are ahem at least ‘doing their jobs’
.
“Recruitment is our priority,” “ but signing players is apparently a difficult business “ – much like trying to run a big football club – then?
There’s obstacles, like having to spend money
Pay wage rates
Deal with agents
Even the wee English clubs are now bigger than us?
Unfortunately, we’re currently behind “reviewing recruitment”, “reviewing the review of recruitment”, and “finding someone brave enough to approve a player, that isn’t unemployed, they’re easy like Iheanacho of Bursaspor ( Who – me neither ?)
🎶God only knows🎶 – what Brian Wilson is getting up to with the ongoing failure to communicate, the place is getting emptier, supporters staying away in their thousands, after MON’s miracle.
Wibble CSC
🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮
Vinniethedog @ 11:40 am,
Yes, while the explanation for Iheanacho is fine and we have seen this situation occur many times, MO’N being out of the loop with Kelechi and Marcelo is very odd – like Lionsroar says, it’s as if Martin was expecting Kelechi to turn up for pre-season training any moment.
This, it seems to me, is well beyond the lacksidasical, incompetent Celtic PLC’s approach to the football club we’ve been used to…
We are now, not following best practice governance, have a dysfunctional hierarchy, a disengaged, disenchanted support and a fiasco of a football operation…
Of course, all the fiscal controls are in place and are firmly adhered to.
Yet it seems that this is all down to DD not only not giving a jot about the organisation, it seems like the club has been placed in wilful desuetude.
Hail Hail
BSR @ 12:10 pm,
The Brian Wilson is another bizarre addition to the Celtic panto… I’m not picking up good vibrations….
The failure to appoint a fulltime Chairman at the same time a failure to back the interim Chairman in the promises he made both within the organisation and to supporters.
All very, very bizarre…
Hail Hail
GEDINTE
Played 👏👏👏
———————
“If a million people told me to do something in a body of only a million and one, and I was the one and I didn’t feel that something was right, then I would take my own counsel. They can shout, and they can exhort all they like, and I will not change my opinion if I think it is the right thing for this club.”
“Everything that is done at this club, from all the board members and the management, we all do it because it is in the right interests. We might not get it right all the time, but we genuinely act without self-interest.”
Dermot Desmond
Rinse and repeat, he’s here for 33 in a row 👍
🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮
Gedinte
A really thoughtful and illuminating post. I’d pay a legacy newspaper for such a read on matters were they capable of such. Key phrase for me is “ portrays a business absent strategy or purpose”.
That perfectly captures what is happening (or not happening more to the point). The rest of your post speculates as to the why.
That Desmond is running Celtic down is supported by all available evidence. Fattening up the balance sheet for a sale would provide a sensible explanation. An added incentive being to punish a truculent customer base that offended your brittle vanities.
I hear the better the devil you know warnings about Desmond selling up, but on balance I’d take it. This marriage is over.
In the absence of facts I think Occam’s Razor should be used to explain “the gaps”………..none wants the job.
However, everyone has their price so they’ll probably be filled at some point when Celtic pay up for candidates who feel what they’re being paid compensates for the grief.
Re. the “frothy” share price signalling something is afoot, the average daily volume of CCP LN shares over the past 3 months has been c.8000-8500. At 223p (VWAP) that’s £18-19k per day. I’d say that’s hardly Barbarians at the Gate stuff. Also consider c.70% of ordinary shares are tightly held and a further 20% (?) are ‘lost’ so the effective free-float of shares is pretty low. This will also contribute to a squeezy share price.
Gedinte 11.56
My opinion of things, MoN is Manager because he needs a job and the income from it, will he rock the boat for signings he needs wants ,no, I fear this season is going to be more difficult than last and that was shambolic, this transfer window is far from closed and our better players should we lose them will be disastrous because we will sign jersey fillers, I hope my pessimism is just personal, we shall soon see, Desmond appears to be hobbling the Football Club.
CHAIRBHOY on 19TH JULY 2026 12:21 PM
BSR @ 12:10 pm,
—————————
Played 👏👏🎶
———————-
Consign the historian to history I say – we only noticed he was there ( 2005 ) when he popped up as interim and tried to cover for poor Monastic Michael, he of Gerald Ratner genes.
An article in the Irish Examiner tried to tell DD last November ( Evisceration day maybe?) that he had to modernise the club. Nothing against being surrounded by septuagenarians but it’s not a good look for future proofing.
In fairness, mibbees there’s no-one else, DD may have hit a bad yin when wee Ross’s intro collapsed the AGM before business started? but I’m not ruling him out.
Sign a few “ quality players “ mind them? Well done to the ‘Boro fans giving us a showing up and turning up, in “ the most magical place on earth” even though we didn’t
HH
If we are being generous. around 7000 home fans turned up yesterday though it looked less even than that.
What did the club lose yesterday in potential revenue and fan spend on food and merchandise? 1-2 million? (49000 on same weekend last summer).
Not insignificant numbers for a penny pinching board.
I didn’t attend yesterday because I don’t like going to friendly games to watch what are essentially reserve teams.
Had yesterday’s opponents been Clyde in the league cup, I would have bought my own seat and gone to the match.
The same will be true of next weekend’s fixture.
Both of these games are meaningless exercises apart from getting players of both sides up to speed for the real thing starting next week.
As usual, I will go to every competitive game at Celtic Park in the coming season if I am fit enough to do so.
My non attendance at the pre season games is not a protest or part of a campaign, only a reflection of my view of these games.
Truth is that I’d rather spend the entry money on beer and watch the game on telly.
https://youtu.be/AyLNfTh0NNE?si=MLzKCrUEUn3vaj2W
The whole Iheanacho thing is an absolute whitewash.The Sarrachi pantomime,exactly that.
I put on here yesterday,the wages that Bursaspor pay.That is written in stone.No more,no less.It seems very strange that all the darling SMSM friends that we have accrued,all came out with the same bullshit story regards the wages Iheanacho was demanding,/would be getting,£ 47,000 per week,all surfaced at the same time.Direct orders from our imbecilic Board,for the attention of any fekwit supporter that chose to believe it.Its amazing how many we have.The Sarrachi thing,slightly different,but by no means too expensive.MON wanted them,the Board did not.End of story.
The most galling thing is,MON,is now defending the decisions.Putting himself up like one of those laughing Clowns at the funfair,you throw balls at.
FACTS.He did not seek assurances on transfer budgets.
He trusts the incompetents to get things right
He joked he was too busy drinking with the SMSM,to ask Calmac about his future.
He has been spouting the Board line to the fans about signings for the past 3 weeks.Now its” Hoping to get a couple in”
Plenty may have confidence in him,I do not.I am not alone,not by a long shot.He is now a Funfair Clown taking the hits for a Board he must know is not fit for purpose,and worse,stringing along Celtic fans with lies,to cover for them.
I will not go into the stories about really needing the wages.Wont comment on what I dont know enough about,but they are out there.Like the truth,as a TV series used to say.
garygillespieshamstring on 19th July 2026 1:07 pm
I didn’t attend either and even if was free on th ST would still not have bothered for the reason you’ve given.
My only attendance at Celtic Park will solely be for league games. I came out the HCTS after 20 odd years because it’s becoming a scam, too many corporate tickets. I can of course purchase my seat for other competitions however since this board shows no ambition for Europe I’ll save that money for the pub!
Due to the shambolic arse the Board have made of this window,it does not really matter if we get players in,its already too late.If,doing a lot of lifting there.
What we should be doing,is saying to the players that we will probably be losing,that they will not be allowed to leave until the CL Qualifiers are over.Well,you would if you cared for the club more than the delay in the transfer fees.
They wont.
PRESTONPANS BHOYS on 19TH JULY 2026 1:28 PM
garygillespieshamstring on 19th July 2026 1:07 pm
I didn’t attend either and even if was free on th ST would still not have bothered for the reason you’ve given.
My only attendance at Celtic Park will solely be for league games. I came out the HCTS after 20 odd years because it’s becoming a scam, too many corporate tickets. I can of course purchase my seat for other competitions however since this board shows no ambition for Europe I’ll save that money for the pub!
————————
You guys, and around 40,000 others 👍
Listening to some of the excuses on here of why they were not at yesterdays farce ,really,you feel you have to?
If we do not get some quality through the doors this week,and they turn up to watch reserves next week,this shambles that you are willing to pay money for,is on your head.If they get a decent crowd next week,then those that turn up,will deserve everything they get.Unless its with a banner telling this Board to GTF.
FRED COLON on 19TH JULY 2026 1:10 PM
https://youtu.be/AyLNfTh0NNE?si=MLzKCrUEUn3vaj2W
————.
Very poignant 👍
Those who turn up next week will do so because they want to watch their football team, Celtic, playing football.
Gedinte – enjoyable read even though there’s much I don’t agree with.
One psrticular observation caught my eye
The one about Celtic not doing enough to manage a negative story.
Not suggesting for a moment an exemplar of effective communications took place.
Not by a long shot.
But negative Celtic stories sell.
Much harder than it looks.
While I do not approve of the current comms approach
… I can understand if a sense of “damned if we do, damned if we don’t” is driving “Why bother” sentiments.
BTW .. Anyone on here know who, from Celtic, signed off “the minutes”?
Good afternoon all from the Orchard Park, Giffnock. Another great day to be a Tim. 👍
Turkeybhoy,
You have opened Pandora’s box….
Due diligence should have been done and oversight by Legal/CEO.
Why am I not surprised that the Nicholson just shrugged his shoulders.
The minutes of any Celtic Supporters Association don’t require to be ‘signed off’ by someone at Celtic.
Though in the AICS AGM instance, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Celtic board wish they did, given the reactions.
Then again, what the hell do they care.
There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues….
https://thecsa.co.uk/csa-statement/
Someone on the line for you boss, guy called Michael Nicholson from Celtic…
FFS no him again .. fekin tyre kicker… tell him I’m no here…
Maybe that’s why it’s so difficult 🫣🥴😤
“ We won’t get fooled again.”
CSA Statement
Association Statement
The Celtic Supporters Association has watched with increasing alarm the current state of affairs at Celtic Football Club, particularly in relation to transfer business and the recent comments attributed to the CEO, Chairman and Manager at a recent meeting with our friends in the Association of Irish Celtic Supporters Clubs.
That this statement is being issued just two months after the heroic efforts of Martin O’Neill, his coaching staff and players in securing a League and Cup Double against the odds is barely believable. It is not something the Association does lightly or without considerable thought.
The current playing squad is clearly well short of what Celtic supporters, players and the management team demand if we are to compete on all fronts domestically and challenge at the highest level of European football, as should be the ambition at the beginning of every season.
Close to 60 days have now passed since we secured the league title against Hearts, yet the club has added only one player to the squad who was not here last season. This weekend, supporters also learned that those responsible for our transfer business have allowed two key components of that famous title winning side to leave, despite public comments from both the players themselves and the manager indicating a clear desire for them to remain at Celtic.
It is evident to supporters that responsibility for these failings lies with those tasked with concluding deals and strengthening the playing squad namely the executive team and the club’s major shareholder, Dermot Desmond.
Recent comments from CEO Michael Nicholson, in which he appeared to cite agents’ fees, the financial power of the English Premier League and Championship, and even living in Glasgow as reasons why Celtic struggles to complete transfer business in an orderly and timely fashion, only serve to reinforce supporters’ concerns. Rather than inspiring confidence, those remarks highlight an executive team that appears unable to overcome the challenges of the modern transfer market. That these were his most notable public comments since backing Wilfried Nancy in early January speaks for itself.
We also remain in the extraordinary position of having Brian Wilson acting as interim Chairman following the departure of Peter Lawwell, with no clarity over the long term leadership of the Board. Equally concerning is the continued absence of any move to appoint a Head of Football Operations following the dismissal of Paul Tisdale.
The continued silence surrounding almost every aspect of the football club remains a source of deep frustration for supporters. Too often, important developments affecting the club and playing squad emerge through players, agents or sections of the Scottish media, while official club communications instead focus on encouraging supporters to spend more money on merchandise, training wear, season tickets, pre season friendlies and Celtic TV subscriptions.
It is increasingly apparent that no meaningful lessons have been learned from the shambolic handling of last season. A campaign which saw the major shareholder publicly criticise the previous manager through club channels, four separate changes to the management team, the premature closure of the club’s AGM and yet another failure to conduct transfer business effectively ultimately resulted in our Champions League exit and left Celtic just ten minutes away from surrendering the league title to Heart of Midlothian.
The club continues to operate under a model that is clearly no longer fit for purpose in the football environment of 2026. The major shareholder’s grip over decision making is suffocating the club and leaves day to day operations in a continual state of uncertainty, with an executive team that, by its own admission, is unable to provide the manager with the best possible tools to succeed.
At a time when every supporter should be looking forward to a new season with hope and optimism, many instead face it with growing concern. Key players continue to attract interest, transfer business remains painfully slow and the squad is still well short of the quantity and quality required to achieve sustained success.
The Celtic Supporters Association has no desire to see a repeat of the supporter unrest witnessed last season. We want a united support behind the team and the manager as another campaign begins.
However, we cannot ignore what is becoming an all too familiar pattern of inaction, poor leadership and a failure to communicate openly with the people who invest more in this football club than anyone else its supporters.
Joe Gallagher interim General Secretary
BSR @ 2:42pm – thank you.
So, to be clear, they are not “minutes” of an engagement between 2 parties,
… AICSC and a trio of senior stakeholders from Celtic
… They are one side’s account of the discussion between two parties present.
That party, the AICSC
… is a member of the Celtic Collective
… whose key aims include the removal of Michael Nicholson from the role of CEO.
Hmm.
BTW – from reading those … er … “minutes” what appeared (to me) to be a trick was missed.
“So, Michael, the club has ‘signed off on their long term strategy’ ? (Nicolson’s own words)
Genuine congratulations.
That sounds significant and positive.
Credit where it is due.
So, at what date do you plan to share that strategy with the fans ?”