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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BSR- That should be a resignation statement
THE BADA BING on 31ST DECEMBER 2025 6:54 PM
BSR- That should be a resignation statement
—————————-
hoisted by his own petard.
For me and most of you probably, it wasn’t just that we lost, again, but the manner of how poor, how uncompetitive, how slow everything was. We are hurting right now and it is not a sense of entitlement over the last twenty or so years, it is watching our club turn into a laughing stock for the media and others. Fans pay great money to go and watch Celtic, always have. At a time all over the world when nothing is cheap anymore, they still pack out every game, but surely we deserve, not entitled, deserve to have someone, whether manager or chairman, in charge that knows what they are doing. I am in the camp of having wanted Martin and Shaun to stay on until at least January. Would they have won all those games, who knows, but they sure as hell would have made us much more difficult to play against. Sadly, our voices don’t seem to be heard or needed by those in charge. I don’t know what it will take for them to listen to the lifeblood of our club. Continually blaming Brendan is ridiculous.
Sorry my friends. My wee daughter just landed in Wishy for the next three weeks before she goes back to Bilbao and college. I hope she gets to see us win. She knows her auld man is hurting, as we all are. Will always love Celtic.
Sean
Logically we should lose on Saturday
Anybody can score against us at any time in the game
WE don’t have a centre forward who can score
The hun can run around a lot and with the ref’s assistance can play badly and win
We have one ageing very good player and the rest can play for parts of a game and or move in and out of form
We have an ageing goalie over the season.
Our manager is inflexible and opposition teams know when we’re there for the taking.
The poxies should be all over us like a rash .
Hpwever , you never know……
btw kudos to the blogger who warned us about Nancy a month ago – can’t remember who it was but they said straight off that his style would land us in trouble.
Can Nancy survive a loss on Saturday?
Stating the bleedi’ obvious, MON should be appoineted Director of Football Operation, and as manager until the right man can be found
kingLUBO
rimtimtim on 31st December 2025 6:10 pm
The money in the bank needs to be invested in players. But would a player fancy playing under coach Nancy with his lack of experience? We have no option, we should spend on four or five players because that is what money in the bank is for…during hard sporting times. If we had no money we could scout in Coatbridge…
Celtic goes on.
++++++++++++++++
To clarify what Celtic or any club with UEFA ambitions can spend on their playing squad is an annual exercise.
There is room to spend more in current cycle so this is not to say it will not happen although what football earnings will be in 2 or 3 years will be taken into account when offering player contracts that will be fixed for the length of contracts spanning 3 years.
The way FSR works is that an application for a UEFA licence must align with the latest annual audited accounts and the player squad wages are sought in detail and the totals from the detail and the total in the accounts must match.
Celtic’s published accounts do not separate player wages from administration wages so far but they will be required to enable FSR squad cost to football earnings calculation to be made.
Typically the SFA start the National and UEFA licensing process in Jan /Feb and UEFA get notified in May when season ends.
So compliance is an annual event that is based on the football earnings in the latest set of accounts . Any football earnings that are defined by UEFA but not spent on players or other costs are banked and shown as profit in the accounts but NOT part of football earnings as defined in the following year’s accounts.
That profit can be used for other purposes that can generate future football earnings like developing young players to later sell but not to up a players wages above what later t accounts show as football earnings .
To be clear this is not to say Celtic have not had room in the summer window or winter window to spend more and still be FSR compliant, but looking ahead to next accounts and thereafter football earnings are likely to fall and any contracts offered that get recorded in the future accounts have to take account of FSR calculation in future years.
That is my understanding of how FSR works in terms of future forecasting but if correct it helps the support understand the financial limits on player squad spend not just now but in the future.
To illustrate if football earnings in the licensing cycle beginning Jan 2027 using latest 2026 accounts are say £100m then Celtic’s spend on player squad would be limited at 70% i.e. £70m.
In the coming licensing cycle in Jan 26 using latest 2025 accs the Limit would be 70% of £143M = £100M but looking ahead to 2027 it would be £70M.
Based on Celtic’s accs to June 25 with a £65.85 m total wage bill for all staff and with help of AI to separate player cost from admin costs, the squad spend was £45 to £52m so room to spend more even at the illustrative lower FSR limit of £70m in 2027.
If what could be spent is not spent then there should be an account of why to increase supporter understanding. We might not like the answer but it would be an informed question
Happy new year to all, when it comes.
👍🏻
Can Celtic bring back Nawrocki and Palma from there loan deals tomorrow.
Back to basics
I get the point but I think not winning is just the proverbial straw. The Covid season is a good example and we didn’t reset just because Ange started winning (though it helped), but also because Lawell left, we didn’t reset good business in the summer window and, even with the McKay/Nicholson switcherooni, we went early in the January window and it looked like our approach had changed. 3 and a bit years down the line we can see that it was temporary and have had this season where we’ve let two of our best managers leave to replace them with a “strategy manager” who is ill suited to the role and a Board publicly calling out the support. This isn’t something that winning a few games will resolve as we saw during MON’s short stint. The connection is broken because there’s a Board/Club doubling down on a strategy on one side and a support on the other who see that the strategy is limiting to the point of destructive.
Anyway, nothing we say will change things, so I’ll close with a happy new year to you and yours!! Best wishes for 2026!
The petition,🤡🤡 funniest thing I’ve seen in months..
Your house is on fire lets have a petition to outlaw firefighters. 🤣👍
🪱🐛
“Palma……shivers
Sionnaigh on 31st December 2025 6:13 pm
Happy St Sylvester Day all! Ave Ave
One Club. Back our Board, the Team,and Wilfried Nancy.
Petition:
https://c.org/xsGXWMNsxw
WHAT AN ASSHOLE
Favourite uncle, it’s got to be a wind up. He reposted it 4 or 5 times a day 🤣.
I mean if it was serious he would look a bit daft. Surely?
Rod Stewart hasn’t slept………. apparently
Or a hun at the wynd up
Here mr Nicholson , it’s me Sionnaigh that petition I started , it’s going great , even after last night somebody signed it , aye I’m sure he’s a tim , just like the other 17 signatures , we are right behind youse…
vinniethedog on 31st December 2025 6:25 pm
Does anybody honestly think our board knows that if the huns win the league they go directly in CL and the 40-50 million to go…….total game changer ….because they won’t fk about buying 10 players for 13 million
….
Getting into the champions league would likely allow sevco to break even for a season. Its not the game changer everyone thinks it is for them. Its not been a game changer for us, most of our monwy has come from player sales. It would be for a club like hearts.
The biggest problem being the players always have larger bonuses for particpation alongeside. prize money for results becomes very. difficult for clubs from smaller nations as well.
It seems to me celtic simply accept being shite whenever sevco are worse, we can only hope if we do fail this season and the worst happens the board get their act together.
No mattet the outcome we need a complete reset from too to bottom.
HH
Friend of mind at the Motherwell game,saying the Livingston Shamrock signing CHANGR THE BOARD Which to me makes sense,we can’t sack the present board ,but surely there must plenty of Celtic supporters out there with deep pockets can at least try and change the present board .
BSR
He knows the window and knows it’s late.
#IfRodStewartDidTransfers
There is a reasom the celtic board dont spend 20 million net on player to secure champions leegue group phase participation, cause they know it does not offer a significant return when takimg into consideration they can get into europa league that offers half the money but also habe the cost. Its always.money before the fotvall with our lot.
Come on….post the petition again….
An Tearmann on 31st December 2025 6:37 pm
Auldheid-above
Christ, (and I very rarely say that) supporters cannot even cooperate amongst themselves .
Auldheid,supporters do have differing views but I think its wrong of you to suggest there has been no cooperation,there has been in the collective,as an outsider it does look as tho folk have been working together.
You are not involved there in decision making so I dont know how you can say they dont co-operate they have done.
Co operation takes 2,stand forward dermot
HH
=============
Well I am not part of the Collective that thinks making the issue personal and confrontational is the right way to bring DD to the table.
Quite the reverse , it is only pissing him off.
What of supporters who disagree with the Collective approach?
That in itself is divisive.
It does not have to be, just the realisation on both sides that both are part of the problem.
I’m only interested in what works and nothing will work as long as The Board and Support see themselves on the opposite sides.
It has become cultural and encourages confrontation on both sides.
We reap what we sow and by “we” I mean The Board AND the support.
I have long feared the division will be Celtic’s undoing since 2009, it has just taken its time to happen.
Maybe catch up at Ship Bank.
Bada Bing
I agree that maybe not so much in the form of leadership is happening at DD level and given PL has left and BW has zero desire to be chair I don’t image he is doing much. Nicholson seems not to be a pro active guy either. It’s an interesting time.
AIPPLE on 31ST DECEMBER 2025 8:18 PM
BSR
He knows the window and knows it’s late.
#IfRodStewartDidTransfers
——————————-
🎵 Wake up Michael I think I’ve got something to say to you 🎵
#IfRodStewartDidTransfers
🎵 Wake up Michael I think I’ve got something to say to you 🎵
It’s late December and Nancy’s getting schooled
The board doesn’t keep me amused, and the fans are being used
Oh Michael, I couldn’t have cried anymore
What happens if MON is courted and swerves it ?
HH
State of the club report?
Well at least P67 got one thing right: the club is most certainly in a “state”.
Stephenbhoyboy
Not sure if you are too young but a guy whose ego once owned the other Glasgow club spent a lot more than he could afford trying to do well in the champions league.
For clarity he constantly took the bets you advocate over several years and did some pretty illegal stuff re tax issues as well and they went bust funnily enough.
Celtic have taken a more cautious approach with the largest shareholder swearing he would not allow Celtic to get into debt it could not afford after he bailed us out post Seville.
We constantly provision not to have that risk. Many would want us to. Especially our rivals. Many of our own fans want us to. Of late we have budgeted on the side of caution at a succession of transfer windows and done well on player trading. The surplus we have will cover some perceived risks to the club which is prudent. I won’t spell those out. The excess would allow funding player purchases but this kind of excess can easily be swallowed up. Let’s say £30m buys 3 Engels but we also have Engels salaries for 4 years or so to cover. We can’t guarantee success with these and current resell value of our squad is not fantastic either. The surplus we have is not so large as it sounds. I do agree some could be spent if we trust those empowered to do so. However right now the risk of conference league next season at best is a real one. I don’t expect we will see 3 x £10 m players this window. I do expect Celtic will be alive next season though.
I could envisage Martin returning like Cincinnatus to save the institution he loves.
AIPPLE on 31ST DECEMBER 2025 8:32 PM
#IfRodStewartDidTransfers
🎵 Wake up Michael I think I’ve got something to say to you 🎵
It’s late December and Nancy’s getting schooled
The board doesn’t keep me amused, and the fans are being used
Oh Michael, I couldn’t have cried anymore
—————.
🎵 Should have stole his Daddies Cue and made a living outa playing pool 🎵
I’ve just read James Forrest latest blog…I don’t always agree with what he writes in his blog…but by god…I agree 100% with him today…rather than the Pravda written drivel that our host Paul67 put out today regarding the “State” of our club…blaming previous managers…but not the present embarrassment that we have at the helm tonight…Sometimes we get what we wish for…not all the time…but sometimes we do…Paul67 wished upon many a star for Brendan Rodgers to be gone..well…he got what he wished for…this IS down to “people” like Paul67…and Burnley…and their ilk….Today’s “State” of Celtic IS ON YOUR SHOULDERS….you better start to “own” it…..all the board lovers that go on about a generation of dominance…FFS…if you gave most clubs in SPL maybe even 3/4 of our turnover and financial advantage….they would definitely be putting out the best club out on the park that they can for their supporters….but our board are an embarrassment…and maybe not any better than our board through the late 70’s to early 90’s….
This CQN blog has lost many a great contributor through the years…many with passing (sadly) but many with being tired of hearing the same old board fed drivel that Paul67 has put out..as I said earlier…His Blog..his rules…and if I don’t like it…then I can do what many others have…But his latest post today…could very well be his most embarrassing post to date…since CQN started all those years ago….Not Lazy Journalism….Your’e having a laugh…but many others aren’t laughing…As I’ve said…THIS IS ON YOU….Don’t kid yourself…OWN IT.
*****WARNING*****
*****WARNING*****
*****WARNING*****
*****WARNING*****
FSR squirrel seen on Squinty Bridge.
BURNLEY78….you say you can’t guarantee success in Europe if spending a few million on each player….I CAN Guarantee you don’t succeed if you don’t..
Probably going tae get shot for this but my main concern is Celtic and no the respective managers
justshatered on 31st December 2025 6:50 pm
*couple of comments here
The sad thing is that every single aspect of Celtic’s decline has been self inflicted.
The Board claim it was all Rodgers fault, but who hired Rodgers again? It certainly wasn’t those pesky malcontents (now there’s a word from yesteryear).
*It was DD who headhunted him after Ange left, he didnae do a midnight so they knew he would be leaving and had another couple of managers lined up, but DD, just like he did with MON over Guus Hiddink, overpowered them
A complete disconnect between recruitment and what the team/squad actually require is glaring, who is responsible for that?
The selling of asset after asset with no clear replacement identified has left little or no creativity in the team. Who is responsible for those decisions?
*Could be the Board but my feeling is it was DD again
When Rodgers refused to sign the contract extension by the summer, he should have been sacked but that would have required someone on our Board with a spine and, as we know, that is sadly lacking.
Seemingly it wisnae the summer but this time last year as DD and MN approached him with the extended contract based on how he had performed, especially in Europe, this 2nd time round
Instead, they deliberately weakened the side further in an attempt to make him resign.
*Not really they just widnae release the funds as they knew he had history of bailing out and NOT just with us.
I really feel sorry for Nancy in this respect. He has been jettisoned into this job, obviously unaware of the current civil war within the club. The fans are now watching, not the best coach in America nor even the second or third best, attempting to get players to get players to play a system they are wholly unsuitable for.
*me tae as I said last night he wisnae sold a pup but a pig in a poke although in saying that his heid seems to have been too big to take advice from not just the 2nd greatest manager we have ever had but a seasoned EPL and National team manager tae
Who at our club decided a complete change in tactics, halfway between transfer windows, was what would fix the issues facing the club?
*nancy, without the laughing face
Everyone on that board should of been replaced years ago completely out of touch with modern football. They got lucky with Ange and his signings. I’m a fan of Brendan Rodgers but he was the lazy option again just like Niel Lennon before him.
They dont have the balls to sack this guy and when they finally do it’ll be to late
MOM
Yip noted 🙄
BSR
Meet ye at the karaoke bar.