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 87th 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.
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Back to Basics
I think we did back big Billy in the centenary season. Although that was previous board and relative to rangers maybe not so much.
Morris
McAvennie
Stark
Mick
Etc.
The problem is not just the losing of 5 games, it’s the incompetence. He stubbornly refuses to see that ant half competent team has worked out his stupid formation. He was totally schooled by the motherwell manager, hearts nanager, st mirren manager. He has went from a team under martin who defended competently to a team that loses 2gials games minimum. He is an idiot get rid now
Lest we forget, these players won us the league last year and did well with St Martin at the helm. Sure we need strengthening but keep in mind please and keep yer chins up, things could be worse, well, maybe not
kingLUBO
Loses 2 goals per game minimum
Under Wilf, Celtic have conceded the same number of league goals as with Brendan and Martin combined.
I’m undecided, though I suspect the fans are at fault somehow
The core question is what divides Dermot Desmond and his proxy son from Celtic supporters ?
The simple answer is MONEY! It always is for those whose life revolves around accumulating wealth.
The Desmond’s don’t have any time for Celtic’s hoi poly, they’re just a cash-cows, and some have become nuisances.
The move to resolve the fracture in the club rests with Dermot Desmond, he has to expand the board to give democratically chosen supporter representatives seats on the board so that their input better represents those who are supporting/financing the club.
MNCELT re: stuff
HH my good man. Maybe catch a wee sally next year.
Rumours that the GB are to be allowed back for Saturday
WTAF haven’t they suffered enough. 🤣
Happy new year and good health to all, including P67, Burnley and others I disagree with. Even to Lawwell who has at least fallen on his sword and to Wilfried who has been cast in the wrong movie.
The only exceptions to my good wishes for 2026 are bigoted huns (and a bigots of every stripe), Paul Spivdale (conman), Dermot Desmond (terrible person) and Ross Desmond (makes Don Jr look like a good guy).
BSR
😁😁😁
Burnley78 @ 3:25pm
Yip. Summer of 87 was on my cusp but rejected it as total spend in the summer was only £1m to get Walker, McCarthy, Morris and Stark.
We did pony up later for Macca and then Miller (this was before transfer windows)
… but I always believed that was a learning from a year earlier … when the board did not give Davie Hay £850k to buy Joe McLaughlin and Steve Clarke (yes, him) when we were top of the league.
The Souness juggernaut could have been stalled big time. Hey ho.
If i didn’t know better I would think some fans have written us off for Saturday.
It seems some would be quite happy for us to get beaten just to emphasise a point.
What I do know is that there will be none of that rubbish and negativity in the boozer at 08.00 hours Saturday morning prior to the game.
HH and f#ck the huns.
Best wishes for the new year paul67
The whole ‘entitled spolied fans’ narrative is just another deflection to undermine anyone who questions/ challenges the board fully backed up by a compliant media wjo are only to happy to see playing shite and supporters of other clubs who are simply enjoying big boys getting a kick in the balls.
Real issue is the cunts given celtic supporters a kick on the balls is coming from inside their own walls. Desmond and co should hang their heads in shame.
HH
t
If I was a betting man I would wager that not one of the so called member of the Celtic board will be there on Saturday for fear of a toxic backlash if we get pumped !!
Greenpinata on 31st December 2025 3:54 pm
The board have decided to write off the season. We are a shiteshow from top to bottom
Surely the board have the authority to scrap his o insane system and simply win games, like others before him have with the same squad.
Should Saturday pan out as we expect, Nancy’s return using his own ridiculous system will be two wins and six defeats in eight games. Had the games all been in the league, from the get go, we would be equal BOTTOM on points after 8 games!
Correction:
Surely the board have the authority to direct Nancy to scrap his insane system and simply win games by hook or by crook!
The Old Firm brand must be protected at all costs.
Circa – £650 per head + additional addons.
They are pulling the covid ruse all over again – Winning 10 in a Row would have not assisted the #OldFirm brand. Relevance matters.
We are paying circa £650 per season to keep a 13 year old entity relevant.
Let that sink in.
I intentionally will not use the words “spoiled” or “entitled”
I will reasonably point out we have a generation of fans who’ve known nothing but success (often plural) almost every year.
They are now experiencing failure .. and are struggling to cope.
The breadth of rationalisations is telling.
Older fans?
We didn’t know when or how it would end but we all knew it WOULD end someday … and the ending would be ugly.
Perhaps it is ending now. (Perhaps not)
If so, how quick and how ugly are likely a surprise.
As for fan reaction?
Respectfully, the root cause of much (not all) our angst, frustration, sense of impotence, and envy, is simple.
Celtic are not winning games.
If we were, there would be far lower levels and breadth of anger.
To be clear – the root causes of WHY we are not winning? Valid debate but a different phenomenon.
We now know what it is like to be a supporter of every other team in the league.
Up to us, (not the suits and never the suits), how we deal with it.
This won’t help … but I’ll try anyway.
Some of us have lived this sketch before.
More than once.
We got through it … and so did Celtic.
I know I have posted it before but feel it’s probably a bit more relevant now…
Aweraverybest to one and all and good luck for 2026…. think we’re going to need it 🤣🍾👍
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRZ-IxZ46ng&pp=ygUYSXRzIG5vdCBlYXN5IGJlaW5nIGdyZWVu
murdochbhoy on 31st December 2025 3:32 pm
I disagree mate. This ain’t about money.
If it were about money, we’d be sacking WN today and going about winning this league, getting CL football and selling out season tickets for next year.
We’re gonna hand a title alongside automatic CL participation to our biggest domestic threat.
This is about one man’s ego and inability to admit to his errors of judgement. This is about our Board’s inability to stand up to this man.
When the damage is inflicted from within the walls this is when it becomes a different matter entirely.
As Cicero once mused.
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear”
Motherwell played 2 right backs as centre backs last night….
An Dun
Over simplification in my opinion.
What boss appoints someone whom he/she thinks will stand up to them?
We’re fecked until DD smells the coffee and that won’t be soon, IMHO.
Very sad.
PLB
A good new year to you also.
I really do hope we all get some happiness from Celtic next year.
Ideally a 1979 or 1986 style last game win pushing Huns into 5th and Hearts into 4th after Hibs and Motherwell.
A strong window in January with a few good hungry loans to support a decent Europa run to QF level then start afresh next summer.
The shades of night have came down.
Sean is approaching a border town.
I’m putting the tapes on to sing to try and remember happier days
What a load of delusional crap, there will be none of the above we are headed to the bottom 6 under Nancy.
I wouldn’t trust this guy to make it better with new signings next month, it’s too far gone now
Burnley78
Are you happy with WN as manager ?
Y/N.
HH.
with the Stock Exchange closed for the day and the morra and quite possibly Friday it looks as if WN will be in the dug oot on saturday morn, or do we do what we did with joke broon and pump him on Saturday which would give the support and the team a huge lift
“Sack the board, that’s easy done too. Replaced by what?
Celtic is a big ticket job, fill in the blanks across Europe would jump at the chance to work here.”
bournesouprecipe on 31st December 2025 3:33 pm
😂😂😂👏👏👏
An Dún on 31st December 2025 4:25 pm
We’ve a lot in common really. We agree the current board are so cowered by him they acquiesce to his egotistical approach.
Desmond I suggested is driven by money, you suggest it’s his ego, I’d just add that his ego is a result of his money that has given him a position that allows him view the rest of the board as flunkies.
You tellingly add that we’ll hand the league to our biggest rivals if he doesn’t. I’d suggest that’s not the issue.
My suggesting that we need to get meaningful supporter representation on the board would, I suggest, address your view as well.
This is about one man’s ego and inability to admit to his errors of judgement. This is about our Board’s inability to stand up to this man.
If the 2nd Rangers somehow win their 2nd ever league, they are not gauranteed a champions league automatic place.
There is a convoluted way they might get it, but it is very much dependent on other high ranking teams failing in their own leagues while not winning in the european competitions.
I aint losing sleep pover that particular item.
As to Brendans 2nd appointment, it was a success.
i ENJOYED WINNING FOOTBALL, SCORING LOTS OF GOALS, AND WINNING DOUBLES,
but hey, those that found it a hard watch and an excuse for leaving early, well are you entertained now ?
Back to Basics 4.21pm
Great post.
PeterLatchfordsBelly on 31st December 2025 1:03 pm
No unifying message or vision. This mob have got no game. Nada.
============
For what it is worth I made that point about Purpose and Vision in a question to the AGM. See end.
The chaos meant to answer. I followed up using Celtic’s response to CST Resolution to produce a plan making my point why it was necessary.
My point was accepted and my hope is that I have given Celtic something to think about.
The purpose set out in AGM papers is not fit for purpose and will be rewritten which means some thought will have to go into it.
What we are seeing is the manifestation of straying from original purpose that brought Celtic into life, ideas that include not judging, forgiveness, love they neighbour all requirements if Celtic are to heal from self inflicted wounds and become at one with itself.
—————–
Dear Board,
As a shareholder, I respectfully submit the following questions in advance of the 2025 Annual General Meeting.
Celtic was founded with a clear ethos and purpose rooted in community, charity, and identity. To ensure alignment between this founding purpose, the responsibilities of the Board, and the expectations of shareholders and supporters, I would be grateful if you could address the following:
1. Purpose – What does the Board consider to be the fundamental Purpose of Celtic Football Club?
2. Vision – What is the Vision of the Board for Celtic’s future?
3. Strategy – What Strategy has the Board adopted to achieve this Purpose and Vision?
4. Policies – What Policies are in place to support and deliver the Strategy?
5. Indicators – What Indicators or measures does the Board use to assess whether the Purpose, Vision, Strategy, and Policies are being achieved in practice?