State of the Club Report, December 2025

My friends in Celtic, you and I have discussed this subject for over two decades, seldom in that time has the club been in such disarray.  No one football game determines the health of a club, but yesterday’s 2-0 defeat at Fir Park perfectly illustrates what a soft touch Celtic are.

Credit to Motherwell, this is as good a side as I have seen from them, but they are not a Champions League-level team.  However, they out-thought Celtic and controlled the game throughout.  The list of Scottish clubs who have already done this, this season, is significant: St Mirren, Hearts, Dundee and Dundee United have all beaten Celtic and bossed them, at least once each.  Kilmarnock were denied a point by an added-time penalty, 10-man Aberdeen by two goals after the 87^th minute, while a truly awful Livingston twice took the lead against us.

Wilfried Nancy inherited much of this mess.  Three misfiring transfer windows proceeded Brendan Rodgers departure and Wilfried’s arrival.  Despite significant spending the squad was left imbalanced, the new manager had to cope with that, but he is far from blameless.

When plans meet grass

Few of us looked forward to last night’s game expecting yet another new formation.  I am sure this made sense on a flipchart at Lennoxtown on Monday but it was destroyed from the start by a Motherwell squad which benefited from a total spent this summer of £250k.

The lack of structure which caused the alarm in the first half was not due to a lack of a decent striker, it was a consequence of what was written on that flipchart.  The second half saw a return to the formation which won the previous two games, and allowed Celtic a degree of control of the ball, but roles were changed.  McCowan came on at wingback, not the inside role he has been enjoying so much success in.  Maeda, whose crossing was a real asset in recent weeks, was hooked, while Shin Yamada was given the lost striker role.  Better than expecting Reo Hatate to plug the gap, I suppose.

We are at the cusp of the ‘favourites for the league title’ shifting from Celtic to God knows who.  Either one of two poor-to-average teams who because of Celtic’s inept performances are likely to win the league.

Football fans love a scapegoat; take your pick.  None of the players involved last night were to blame, nor was the referee.  The result was a failure of team planning and the team planning failure was a consequence of the second successive poor managerial appointment by the board.

When appointing a manager, I support Celtic looking outside the box.  We will not out-perform unless we follow different leads to our wealthier competitors.  On paper (or a flipchart, if you prefer), finding someone with a bit of form in the MLS ticks this box, so I was happy with the appointment.  The diligence and transition planning, however, was woefully short.

20 years ago, Gordon Strachan started his Celtic managerial career with a terrible defeat and an alarming draw (at Motherwell).  Despite winning three successive league titles and taking Celtic into the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first and second times, he never quite recovered in the eyes of some supporters.  20 years on, the world has not become more tolerant.  Wilfried could recover and win the league, but it will not be enough for some.

Layered on top of this is transfer planning.  The head of recruitment brought the manager in and the manager has plans to spend many millions in January.  This is what the club hopes will deliver salvation from what ails us.  Players suited to the formation in three or four positions might work.  The return of Jota and Kelechi Iheanacho, then Callum Osmand and Alistair Johnston, will help.  Our prospects of a league title this season are circling the drain, but they have not yet flushed.

The other side of the equation is equally important.  It is easy to destroy but difficult to build ‘What next?’  Sack the manager is easy, subsequently recruiting someone who can deliver the kind of success Celtic has come to expect not so much.  Sack the board, that’s easy done too.  Replaced by what?  I’ll save you a lesson in corporate governance structures, but if you think any fool can run a successful Celtic, you are the fool.

My expectation is that Celtic will not win the league this season, despite that being entirely possible right now.  Head of Football Operations Paul Tisdale has been thrown in at the deep end in at a level he had little experience of.  We are not Exeter City.  Nor are we Columbus Crew.  Our football structure is simply not operating at the level we were even two years ago.

To our board, I suggest they reflect on how we got here.  Why was Brendan brought back, who was inevitably going to play the same games he did during his first spell and resulted in the summer debacle?  Why did we move from importing Manchester City’s recruitment imprint to that of Exeter City?  Celtic is a big ticket job, recruitment analysts across Europe would jump at the chance to work here.

I expect the club will throw the dice in the January transfer window in the hope of landing some sixes.  The fallacy of sunk costs is powerful.  You and I do not have all the information, so we should also consider where we are on the Dunning-Krugger chart.  People on the outside who believe obviously clear decisions are not being made are usually at the first peak.

Personally, I would have a chat with Shaun Maloney this afternoon.  I might be one of the fools, but he is not.  We have talent at the club.  There is a squad with potential to achieve more than they currently are.  There is enough money in the bank to fix whatever is wrong – all a consequence of years of good work.

It has been a real honour sharing 2025 with you.  The blog can sail through the good times with little of substance to contribute.  It is needed most when clouds gather and perspective is low.  Some may regard today’s as being light on perspective, but there is no point having a blog if we do not step forward and say when we believe things are going wrong.

Very best wishes for the new year.  I hope you have a healthy and happy one, and I hope we see Celtic back bossing the land once more.  Take care, all.